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IL i. 190 



THE TRAGEDY OF 

CORIOLANUS 



BY 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 



EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
BY 

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PREFATORY NOTE 

Coriolanus presents especial difficulties to 
an editor because of the many obscure passages 
which it contains, and because of the various 
emendations which have been suggested by pre- 
vious editors in the attempt to elucidate certain 
perplexing phrases. In this edition, the text 
is mainly that of the Temple, although other 
readings are frequently given in the Notes. 
' Because this edition is intended primarily for the 

use of young students, the Notes have been made 
fuller and more interpretative than may seem 
necessary. For the same reason, other features 
that are commonly found in school editions are 
either omitted or treated very briefly. 

The editor acknowledges his indebtedness to 
many noted editors, particularly to Rolfe, 
Dowden, Chambers, Hudson, and Wright ; while 
for much valuable assistance in the labor of prep- 
aration, and for helpful criticism in the solving 
of doubtful problems, he is deeply indebted to his 
wife. 

H. D. W. 

CORNWALL-ON-HUDSON, 

June, 1918. 

vii 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION 

William Shakespeare 

The Date of the Play 

The Source of the Plot 

The Subject Matter of Coriolanus 

Critical Comment 

The Stage History of the Play 

The Structure of the Verse 

Shakespeare's English . 

Bibliography . 

CORIOLANUS 

NOTES 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

TOPICS FOR THEMES 



PAGE 

xi 

xi 

xix 

xx 

xxii 

xxxi 

xxxvi 

xxxix 

xli 

xliv 

1 

197 

277 
287 



IX 



INTRODUCTION 

William Shakespeare 

Birthplace. — The quaint, interesting town of 
Stratford-on-Avon is inseparably associated with 
the name and fame of England's greatest drama- 
tist, William Shakespeare. Situated in the beau- 
tiful county of Warwick about one hundred and 
twenty miles from London, it was in Shakespeare's 
day typical of the thriving market towns of the 
Tudor period, and had a population of about two 
thousand inhabitants. Since that time it has not 
grown rapidly, and has become a veritable Mecca 
for tourists in England, especially for literary 
students. For it was here that Shakespeare was 
born on April 26, 1564 ; here he spent the early 
years of his life ; and here he returned to spend 
the closing years of his life, after he had become 
William Shakespeare, Gentleman. It was here 
also that he died on April 23, 1616, and was 
buried in the village church ; and it is here that 
in recent years a Memorial Theater was erected 
to honor his memory. 

Parentage. — His father, John Shakespeare, 
was one of Stratford's leading citizens and was 

xi 



xii INTRODUCTION 

engaged at various times in farming, in making 
gloves, and in trading in leather, wool, meat, and 
all kinds of farm produce. He married Mary 
Arden, the daughter of a former employer, who 
brought him a handsome dowry consisting of an 
estate of sixty acres and the reversion of part of 
another. As he had already acquired two estates 
by purchase before his marriage, he had by this 
time come to be a man of considerable importance 
in the eyes of his fellow-citizens, — a fact which 
they recognized by electing him successively to 
the offices of ale-taster, burgess, constable, af- 
feeror, chamberlain, and finally high bailiff. The 
last, the highest municipal office, he held when 
his son, William, was four years old and marks 
the zenith of his public career. 

Education. — Neither John Shakespeare nor his 
wife had any education worth mentioning, but as 
Stratford boasted of a Free Grammar school, Wil- 
liam was entered in this institution probably at the 
age of seven. In such schools, pupils studied 
Latin grammar, and read Latin works ranging 
from simple stories and fables to the works of such 
authors as the poets Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, 
the orator Cicero, and the playwrights Terence 
and Plautus, and Shakespeare here began his 
acquaintance with classic lore. It must not be 
supposed, however, that his wide knowledge of 
Roman history and of Roman character came 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Xlii 

from these youthful studies, but rather that it 
was derived from his extensive reading in later 
years of translations of works in Latin and Greek 
with which Europe was flooded during the 
Renascence. 

In 1577, Shakespeare's father seems to have 
met with business reverses which forced him to 
sell some of his property and mortgage the 
estate which had been part of his wife's 
dowry. Owing to this and later ill-fortune, the 
son was withdrawn from school at the age of 
thirteen. Concerning his life during the next 
five years, we have no authentic information. 
One tradition tells us that he worked for his 
father, another that he was apprenticed to a 
butcher, and still another that he became a 
lawyer's clerk. There is some reason for accept- 
ing each one of these accounts ; but nevertheless 
they seem to be based more upon conjecture 
than upon actual knowledge. 

Marriage. — The first definite knowledge of 
William Shakespeare's doings after his school 
days is based on his marriage license, issued to 
him in 1582. His wife was Anne Hathaway, the 
daughter of a prosperous farmer of the neighbor- 
ing village of Shottery. She was eight years his 
senior, and the marriage seems to have been 
rather hasty and not altogether a happy one. 
Three children were born to the couple, Susanna 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

in 1583, and Hamnet and Judith, twins, in 1585. 
The son, Hamnet, died in 1596 at the age of 
eleven, but the two daughters survived the poet, 
and both were married before his death, Susanna 
to Dr. Thomas Hall, and Judith to Thomas 
Quincy. The former is supposed to have been 
the original of Miranda in " The Tempest." 

Departure for London. — In 1586, the future 
poet left Stratford on foot and went to London. 
The real reason for this step is not definitely 
known. According to an old tradition, he was 
caught poaching on the estate of Sir Thomas 
Lucy, an irate landlord who owned the pre- 
tentious manor at Stratford called Charlecote 
Hall. Having lampooned the old squire after- 
wards in a satiric ballad, it is said that he found 
it desirable to leave the vicinity of Stratford 
and find an occupation elsewhere. As he was 
fond of outdoor sports, and also showed some 
signs of poetic genius even at this time, the tale 
is not improbable. Nevertheless, some of his 
biographers think it more likely that he went 
to London in search of work, as his family at 
this time numbered five persons, including him- 
self. This seems the more probable when we 
observe that in London he at once became 
attached to the theaters. 

The Theaters in Shakespeare's Day. — The 
theater was an institution that was growing 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE XV 

rapidly in popular favor in those days, and 
young Shakespeare was not altogether lacking 
in knowledge of it. He had undoubtedly seen 
performances of the miracle plays, the mystery 
plays, and the moralities, which were presented 
from time to time in the county of Warwick- 
shire. Besides, traveling bands of actors came 
to Stratford occasionally, and at least one of 
these, the Earl of Leicester's Company, was 
entertained by Shakespeare's father during the 
time that he held the office of high bailiff. One 
of the men in this company, James Burbage, 
built a wooden building in 1576 just outside 
Bishopsgate, London, and called it "The Theater." 
Although it was only a crude structure, it was 
the first permanent London playhouse, and with 
it began English stage tradition. In the same 
year, the dismantled Blackfriars' monastery was 
remodeled to give the Queen's choir boys a place 
to play before the public, but as these were not 
professional actors, their work has less interest 
for us. Another theater, " The Curtain," was 
built a few months after " The Theater " and 
was fairly successful. At least six more were 
built during Shakespeare's lifetime, all of them 
outside of the city's walls because of a Puritan 
prejudice against the theatrical profession. 

Early Employment in London. — Whether 
Shakespeare had any definite plans for his future 



XVI INTRODUCTION 

work, or whether he accidentally drifted into 
the theatrical profession, we have no means of 
knowing. However, we read in traditional ac- 
counts that he became a general servitor at a 
theater, holding horses of gentlemen, acting as 
call-boy, etc. His ability did not, however, per- 
mit him to remain in such menial occupations 
very long, and we soon find him as an actor 
taking minor parts, and later on as a reviser of 
plays that had been unsuccessful. Numerous 
plays called ' The Doubtful Plays of Shake- 
speare " are very likely plays which he rewrote 
or in the writing of which he collaborated with 
other playwrights. During his first six years in 
London, he revised at least half a dozen such 
plays. 

His Growing Reputation. — Although his fame 
as an actor brought him to the notice of a limited 
circle, he first gained a reputation among the 
nobility by the publication in 1593 of a poem 
entitled Venus and Adonis. He followed this 
with a second poem in the following year, The 
Rape of Lucrece, which firmly established his 
reputation as a poet. Meanwhile, he had been 
writing original plays, the first of which, Love's 
Labour's Lost, had been produced several years 
earlier, and he continued to write and produce 
comedies, tragedies, and historical plays for a 
period of sixteen years. In all, some twenty- 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE xvil 

eight plays came from his pen, but as they were 
not printed and, therefore, only known to those 
who saw them acted, they brought him less 
literary fame during his lifetime than the two 
poems already named. He wrote also a large 
number of beautiful sonnets which were not 
published until 1609, seven years before his death. 

Retirement. — In 1612, after the production 
of The Tempest, Shakespeare carried out a plan 
that apparently he had formulated long before 
and settled down to live the life of a landed 
gentleman. He had made frequent visits to 
Stratford during his busy years in London, and 
ki 1597 had bought New Place, the largest house 
in Stratford. Being of an economical nature, he had 
accumulated a considerable sum of money both by 
his acting and by the royalties from his plays, 
and now in sharp contrast to many of his con- 
temporaries was a man of means who could spend 
the remaining years of his life in peace and comfort. 

His income at one time, according to Sidney 
Lee's estimate, was at least six hundred pounds 
a year, a sum which would have had a purchasing 
power of at least twenty thousand dollars in our 
day. He was a large shareholder in the Globe 
Theater where most of his plays were acted, and 
had a small interest in the Blackfriars. At his 
death in 1616, his elder daughter, Mrs. Hall, 
received most of his possessions. 



xviii INTRODUCTION 

His Plays. — His plays are usually divided 
into four groups, each of which corresponds to 
a period in his life. His art developed ~s time 
went on, and there is naturally a great diff* >*enee 
between the dramas of his youth anJ ^iose of 
his maturer years. In the first period, we find 
him writing such plays as Loves Labour's Lost, 
Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors, Richard II, 
Richard III, Midsummer Night's Dream, and 
Tjwo Gentlemen of Verona. In the second period, 
we find his finest comedies, such as The Taming 
of the Shrew, Merchant of Venice, As You Like 
It, Much Ado about Nothing, Twelfth Night, and 
Merry Wives of Windsor, as well as several fine 
historical plays, Henry V, and I Henry IV and 
II Henry IV. In the third period, he dealt 
with problems of human destiny in such plays 
as Hamlet, Julius Ccesar, King Lear, Macbeth, 
Coriolanus, Othello, and Antony and Cleopatra, 
the first four of which are among the best dramas 
ever written. In the final period, we find him 
in a less somber mood. Such plays as The 
Tempest, Cymbeline, and The Winter's Tale show 
how cheerful and serene his mind had become 
after years of meditation over the problems of 
evil and sin. For a fuller study of the poet's 
life and works, the student should consult one 
or more of the works listed in the Bibliography 
on page xlvi. 



the date of the play xix 

The Date of the Play 

Although the precise date of the composition 
of CoV-^ohus cannot be determined, nevertheless, 
scholars^ nave agreed that it was written during 
the later years of Shakespeare's life, and un- 
doubtedly was the third of his trilogy based 
upon Roman history. Attempts to define the 
date more accurately by external evidence, such 
as a supposed reference to the play in Jonson's 
The Silent Woman, the mulberry planting in 
1609, and the dearth that prevailed in England 
in 1608-1609, are generally considered incon- 
clusive. However, the internal evidence, such 
as the absence of rime, the numerous feminine 
and weak endings, the severity of the style, the 
infrequent use of humorous by-play, and similar 
features that characterize his later and more 
serious work, quite conclusively prove that this 
drama was written during his great tragic period. 
Modern editors have quite agreed that Coriolanus 
was written soon after Antony and Cleopatra, prob- 
ably in the years 1608 to 1610. 

It was first printed in the First Folio in 1623, 
and with slight changes in the text, was reprinted 
in the Second, Third, and Fourth Folios in 1632, 
1664, and 1685, respectively. 



XX INTRODUCTION 

The Source of the Plot 

Shakespeare undoubtedly found the historical 
material for Coriolanus in Sir Thomas North's 
translation of Plutarch's Lives of Noble Grecians 
and Romans. This work seems to have furnished 
him also with the material for Julius Ccssar, 
Antony and Cleopatra, and, to some extent, for 
Timo?i of Athens. First printed in 1579, it be- 
came so popular that no less than seven editions 
appeared between 1579 and 1676, — a fact which 
shows the reason for the great interest Shake- 
speare's audiences took in his plays on Roman 
history. 

While Shakespeare closely followed Plutarch's 
biography of Coriolanus as far as the main in- 
cidents are concerned, he did not hesitate to 
alter certain minor ones nor to add others when- 
ever dramatic technique demanded it. He com- 
pressed the story of the three revolts into one 
and changed the time of the one which was 
caused by a demand for free corn. He added 
scenes to delineate more fully the characters of 
Volumnia, Aufidius, etc., or, as in the battle 
scenes, to lend more realism to the action. Again, 
he omitted many details which Plutarch con- 
sidered important, but which would have re- 
tarded the action. Among these are the embassy 
of priests that preceded Volumnia's Intercession 



THE SOURCE OF THE PLOT Xxi 

in Act V, the omens which fell when Rome re- 
ceived the news that Coriolanus was advancing 
against her with an army, the colonization of 
Velitres, and the forays against the Antiates. 
Many other variations between the two versions 
can be found by any diligent student. 

On the pther hand, the dramatist added various 
details that give a picturesque and dramatic 
touch to the story, and he gave greater individ- 
uality and vitality to the minor characters of the 
play than Plutarch did. Examples of the former 
are the humorous repartee between Menenius 
and the tribunes in Act I, Scene i, and that be- 
tween Menenius and the sentinels in Act V, 
Scene ii ; the wager of a horse in Act I, Scene iv ; 
the reply of Aufldius in Act IV, Scene v ; while 
the latter is exemplified throughout the play in 
the masterly delineation of Volumnia, Menenius, 
Virgilia, and the tribunes. 

In some parts of the play, Shakespeare has 
followed North's translation so closely that the 
speeches of the characters appear to be a poetical 
paraphrase of the splendid prose of the original. 
Examples may be found in Act V, Scene iii, 
11. 94-98, or in Act I, Scene iv, 11. 55-60. The 
fable of the belly, as it is related by Menenius 
in the play differs in minor respects from the 
version given in North's Plutarch. This has led 
to the belief that Shakespeare may also have 



xxii INTRODUCTION 

had before him a version of the fable that ap- 
peared in 1605 in Camden's Remaines. The 
legend itself is an ancient and widely-circulated 
one and appears in the writings of the Greeks 
and Egyptians as well as in those of the Romans. 

The Subject Matter of Coriolanus 

In studying Coriolanus, we find two subjects of 
absorbing interest : first, the political struggle 
between the patrician and the plebeian classes in 
ancient Rome, and secondly, the struggle within 
Coriolanus himself against his haughty self-pride 
and his passionate prejudice against the lower 
classes. Of these, the second is the more im- 
portant and the first only serves as a background. 
We are not to suppose that Shakespeare was writ- 
ing an historical play, nor that he was, as some 
critics, notably Hazlitt, have declared, giving a 
final verdict upon the social and political struggle 
that took place in early Roman days. On the 
contrary, he merely went to Plutarch's Lives a 
third time to obtain material for a drama in 
which he could present the ruin of a noble man 
through the sin of egotism and pride. The 
primary interest of the play is not centered in 
the contest for municipal rights, but in the in- 
evitable fate that overtakes one who acts as if 
he were a god and not a mere mortal. 



SUBJECT MATTER OP CORIOLANUS xxiil 

It is never well to consider that Shakespeare 
was at any time attempting to point a moral or 
to express an opinion on the merits of any move- 
ment or any cause. Hardly any author was more 
self-effacing in his work, and we can rarely feel 
certain that he is stepping out of the background 
to make a character a mouthpiece for his per- 
sonal opinions. If he can be considered as a 
critic of political questions at all, we must seek 
his views on these in his earlier plays on English 
history ; for at the time he wrote Coriolanus, he 
was confining himself to a profound study of 
human life and character, to the solution of 
the deeper problems of our destiny. Macbeth, 
Julius Coesar, Hamlet, and Antony and Cleo- 
patra had been written by this time, all somber 
tragedies with a political background, but with 
our attention focused on the deterioration in 
the leading characters who have committed 
wrongs. His general method of treatment has 
been well stated by Bradley, whom Professor 
Matthews quotes in his admirable work, Shake- 
speare as a Playwright, and it deserves quoting 
here : " When Shakespeare moved to put forth 
his full powers as playwright and as poet, as 
psychologist and as philosopher, he sets before 
us a tale of suffering and calamity conducting 
to the death of the hero, who is always a con- 
spicuous person, prominent in the state. The 



XXIV INTRODUCTION 

part of the hero's career which is shown in action 
on the stage is that which immediately precedes 
his death, he having been introduced to us at 
first in a fairly happy condition, and the later 
calamity and sufferings are unexpected, excep- 
tional, and striking. As a whole, the tragedy 
brings home to us an abiding sense of the power- 
lessness of man and it makes us feel that the 
fatal end follows inevitably and inexorably from 
the deeds of men, and that the main source of 
these deeds is character. The hero, who is 
always of heroic size, is destroyed by his own 
failing, which is his ruling quality, at once his 
strength and his weakness. He is not the victim 
of the merely external forces against which he 
struggles in vain, rather he is betrayed by him- 
self. He goes down because he is what he is. 
And, as a result, his downfall and his death may 
be pitiful but they are not painful. We under- 
stand the reasons and we are reconciled to the 
result. The spectacle of the hero's self-destruc- 
tion is not depressing, since there is nothing 
petty in it and nothing accidental." 

This is precisely the method Shakespeare used 
in writing Coriolanus. Plutarch furnished him 
with incidents, traits, hints, etc., which by his 
vitalizing imagination, Shakespeare combined into 
a powerful drama. The story is largely a legend- 
ary one, and even as Plutarch relates it, full of 



SUBJECT MATTER OF CORIOLANUS XXV 

incongruities. But even so, it contained elements 
which, in the hands of a man who had such re- 
markably clear insight into problems of character 
and such a complete command of the resources 
of dramatic art, could be converted into an absorb- 
ing play. 

In writing Coriolanus, the dramatist followed 
the original version in North's Plutarch more 
closely than he did in his other Roman plays. 
Nevertheless, in adapting the legend to dramatic 
purposes, he pruned it considerably and retained 
the essential ideas of the story rather than the 
literal facts. As historians are not in agreement 
as to how much can be accepted as fact, nor even 
as to the exact names of the characters, young 
students may concern themselves little with this 
divergence, but should study the political situa- 
tion as Shakespeare presents it to us. The only 
historical fact referred to which is authentic is 
the secession of the plebeians to Mons Sacer in 
495 B.C. because of agricultural distress and usury, 
a secession which was followed by the election of 
the tribunes. 

Rome at the time of Coriolanus was split up 
into two contending factions, the patricians and 
the plebeians. The former had become rich and 
powerful and considered themselves " the city." 
They led luxurious lives and looked upon their 
prosperity as their natural due. All the civil 



XXVI INTRODUCTION 

power of the state was in their hands and they 
exercised it in an autocratic manner for their own 
benefit. Their chief occupation was war, and 
prowess in battle was regarded as the highest of 
all mortal attainments. Whenever their power 
became endangered by any popular clamor for a 
more just division of the fruits of labor, they 
either provoked a war or welcomed one begun 
by some hostile neighbor in order to divert 
attention from such domestic problems. The 
warrior was idolized, and his deeds extolled and 
rehearsed on every suitable occasion. As has 
been the custom in all militaristic nations, the 
young men were trained to be soldiers from their 
childhood, and a contempt was engendered in 
them for all those who had not been trained and 
disciplined in a like manner. 

The plebeians, on the other hand, were the 
tradesmen, the craftsmen, etc., who comprised 
the majority of the inhabitants of the city. 
Eventually becoming tired of continual wars, of 
heavy levies, of usury, and of a lack of corn, 
they seceded from the city. Instead of giving 
them redress from their wrongs, the patricians 
appeased them by the appointment of certain 
magistrates, called tribunes, who were to safe- 
guard their rights. By this apparent concession, 
the patricians felt they could still the popular 
clamor, and, although granting to the commoners 



SUBJECT MATTER OF CORIOLANUS XXVll 

a semblance of power, really retain the actual 
power for themselves. Many of the nobles, 
among whom Coriolanus was a leader, strongly 
opposed such a compromise and insisted that 
such a policy formed a dangerous precedent 
which would be " the seed of political anarchy 
and dissolution." Others, however, of whom 
Cominius is an example, were more moderate and 
foresaw that the populace was too powerful to 
be successfully opposed in all things. Yet when 
Coriolanus is finally banished, they have no 
reply to his taunts when he declares that they 
have lost their power to the crafty tribunes 
whom they created. 

Even as Shakespeare has portrayed the good 
and bad qualities of the patricians, so does he 
show us the good and bad qualities among the 
plebeians. The latter are ready and willing to 
reward Coriolanus for his brave deeds with the 
highest office of the state, but they realize that 
he scorns to accept anything which they have 
power to bestow and " pays himself with being 
proud." They are not so blind that they cannot 
see that his valiant deeds are done not so much 
for the glory of Rome as to feed his unlimited 
pride and to prove the superior virtues of the 
patrician class. At no time does he lose an 
opportunity to show his contempt for them. He 
despises them in battle, he calls them " a common 



xxviii INTRODUCTION 

cry of curs," and even while he begs their votes, 
he does it more as a command than as a request. 
Yet even when they might have him executed, 
they modify the sentence to banishment. 

On the whole, the plebeians appear, however, 
in an unfavorable light. Neither they nor their 
leaders arouse our admiration. In political af- 
fairs, they are fickle and irrational, easily led by 
the crafty tribunes. They are made to appear 
dirty and unkempt, greedy and ungrateful. 
Throughout his Roman plays, the dramatist 
usually presents the people as a mob without 
opinions, except such as a clever demagogue can 
inject into them. Still, in spite of the same 
sweaty caps and stinking breaths, the people in 
Coriolanus are less disreputable and less fickle 
than the rabble in Julius Caesar. Their position 
in this conflict is correctly stated in the conversa- 
tion between the two officers at the beginning of 
the second scene of Act II. 

If we would assume that Shakespeare in any 
way expressed an opinion in this play on the 
rights of democracy vs. aristocracy, we must 
remember what the conditions of the lower 
classes were in his day. England had been well- 
governed under the wise rule of Elizabeth and 
was still fairly prosperous under James I. How- 
ever, during the entire Tudor period, the social 
structure of England had been in a ferment. The 



SUBJECT MATTER OF CORIOLANUS XXIX 

Wars of the Roses had left the nobles in an im- 
poverished state and much of the largess formerly 
given by them to the poor had ceased. Soon after 
Elizabeth's reign began, wars temporarily ceased 
too, and as a result, a multitude of ex-soldiers, 
idle, profligate, and unwilling to work, descended 
upon the towns of England, especially London, 
and demanded support gratis. London became 
so filled with shiftless people that laws were 
passed making any person without visible means 
of support a vagabond and subjecting him to 
severe punishment. Some of them roved from 
town to town in groups of a hundred or more, 
stealing, carousing, and terrifying the people. 
Undoubtedly, many were among the "under- 
standers " in the pits of the theaters where they 
demanded buffoonery rather than serious drama, 
horse-play rather than poetry. It is to these 
that Shakespeare refers in Hamlet when he says 
that they are " fit only for dumb shows and 
noise." And as his lower classes are always 
English because local color was unknown by the 
writers of his day, is it not surprising that he 
should be so moderate in his treatment of them 
when he had evidences every day of their ingrati- 
tude, their lack of perception, their tractableness ? 
In fact, what he did seem to condemn was 
" the violence and irrationality of untrained men," 
and not the men themselves. Coriolanus is found 



XXX INTRODUCTION 

wanting and suffers death ; the plebeians put 
Rome in danger by their irrational act. The 
curse of the world then is inefficiency and fickle- 
ness. The poet does not condemn the common 
people merely because they are common, nor is 
he, on the other hand, any democratic senti- 
mentalist. If he seems inclined to favor the 
rule of the aristocracy, he does so only when the 
aristocracy lives up to its possibilities. The word 
" aristocracy " literally means, " the rule by the 
best " or by those who because of real merit are 
deserving of power. 

That this was a natural conclusion for him to 
arrive at is apparent when we remember his own 
experience. He himself became a man of means 
because he was industrious and frugal, and because 
of his prosperity and growing fame, became the 
envy of many minor playwrights. While many 
of these, some of them university men, were de- 
crying the public taste or else catering to its 
lowest demands and thereby hastening the 
Puritan agitation against the theater, he was 
profitably producing plays that were not only 
well-received but were educating the public taste, 
enlightening the people about the past history 
of their country, and enlarging their views oi life. 
He, therefore, had scant sympathy witMr the 
inefficient. 



CRITICAL COMMENT XXXI 

Critical Comment 

Coriolanus 

" Coriolanus himself stands out, in Shakespeare, 
yet more than in Plutarch, as a giant among 
pigmies. He has the surpassing excellencies of 
the true aristocrat and seems to embody at once 
the aristocratic ideals of heroic Greece and of 
feudal chivalry. He scorns money and pain; 
he has a natural eloquence always at command, 
and everything he says is impressed with an 
indefinable greatness. 1 Less 'churlish and soli- 
tary ' than in Plutarch, for I Shakespeare gives 
him the adoring friendship of Menenius and 
Cominius, he is at bottom more ' uncivil,' less 
fit for citizenship, more impracticable in his 
passionate self-will. This aspect of his character 
Shakespeare has emphasized with a series of 
admirably imagined strokes. It is only in the 
drama that Coriolanus revolts against the tradi- 
tional ceremony of displaying his wounds, and 
declaims, with the naive unreason of a head- 
strong nature, against the authority of ' custom,' 
-on which his own patrician privilege ultimately 
rested. His vengeance is far more sweeping and 
uncompromising. He comes to burn Rome, not 
to get reasonable concessions for his allies ; far 
from *■ keeping the noblemen's lands and goods 



XXX11 INTRODUCTION 

safe from harm and burning,' he sternly dis- 
misses the appeal of his noble friends for dis- 
crimination ; he cannot stay to pick a few grains 
of wheat in a pile 

' Of noisome musty chaff.' 

Political partisanship is effaced in the fury of 
personal vengeance." 

Herford : The Eversley Shakespeare. 

" A haughty passionate feeling, a superb 
egotism, are with Coriolanus the sources of 
weakness and of strength. . . . The pride of 
Coriolanus is not that which comes from self- 
surrender to and union with some power or person 
or principle higher than one's self. It is two- 
fold — a passionate esteem which is essentially 
egoistic, and, secondly, a passionate prejudice of 
class. His nature is the reverse of cold and 
selfish; his sympathies are warm, deep, and 
generous ; but a line, hard and fast, has been 
drawn for him by the aristocratic tradition, and 
it is only within that line that he permits his 
sympathies to play. To the surprise of the 
tribunes, he can accept, well pleased, a sub- 
ordinate command under Cominius. He yields 
with kindly condescension to accept the devotion 
and fidelity of Menenius, and cherishes towards 
the old man a filial regard — the feeling of a son 



CRITICAL COMMENT XXX111 

who has the consciousness that he is greater than 
his father. He must dismiss Menenius disap- 
pointed from the Volscian camp ; but he con- 
trives an innocent fraud by means of which the 
old senator will fancy that he has effected more 
for the peace of Rome than another could. For 
Virgilia, the gentle woman in whom his heart 
finds rest, Coriolanus has a manly tenderness 
and constant freshness of adhesion : 

" ' O, a kiss 
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge ! 
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss 
I carried it from thee, dear ; and my true lip 
Hath virgin' d it e'er since !' 

"... The weakness, the inconstancy, and the 
incapacity of apprehending facts which are the 
vices of the people, reflect and repeat themselves 
in the great patrician ; his aristocratic vices 
counterbalance their plebeian. He is rigid and 
obstinate ; but under the influence of an angry 
egoism he can renounce his principles, his party, 
and his native city. He will not bear away to 
his private use the paltry booty of the Volsces ; 
but to obtain the consulship he is urged by his 
proud mother and his patrician friends to stand 
bareheaded before the mob, to expose his wounds, 
to sue for their votes, to give his heart the lie, 
to bend the knee like a beggar asking an alms. 



XXXIV INTRODUCTION 

The judgment and the blood are ill commingled ; 
he desires the end, but can only half submit to 
the means which are necessary to obtain that 
end ; he has not sufficient self-control to enable 
him to dispose of those chances of which he is 
lord. And so he mars his fortune. The pride 
of Coriolanus, as Mr. Hudson has observed, is 
' rendered altogether inflammable and uncon- 
trollable by passion ; insomuch that if a spark 
of provocation is struck into the latter, the former 
instantly flames up beyond measure, and sweeps 
away all the regards of prudence, decorum, and 
even of common sense.' Now, such passion as 
this Shakespeare knew to be weakness, and not 
strength ; and by this uncontrollable violence of 
temper Coriolanus draws down upon himself 
his banishment from Rome and his subsequent 
fate." 

Dowden : Shakespeare. 

Menenius 

" The most striking personage next to Corio- 
lanus is Menenius Agrippa. . . . He has none 
of Coriolanus' thirst for fame ; he rather rejoices 
in the fame of his friend ; he idolizes him and 
( it gives him an estate of seven years' health ' 
when Coriolanus condescends to write to him. 
He calls himself ' the book of his good acts, 



CRITICAL COMMENT XXXV 

whence men have read his fame unparalleled, 
haply amplified.' Even with the will to speak 
the truth of his hero he involuntarily oversteps 
its bounds. It is easy to him to be his unselfish 
admirer because his own talents lie in quite 
another direction. Age has broken his warlike 
strength, though his brave mind still looks out 
here and there, when in extremity he calls the 
nobles to help Coriolanus, and says he could 
himself ' take up a brace of the best of the ple- 
beians.' But his true strength lies rather in 
mental superiority ; his excellence is that of a 
clever orator. Shakespeare has given him the 
propitiatory office of a mediator, in contrast to 
Coriolanus' blunt party spirit, but he has wisely 
avoided giving him any power to act, because 
that would have thrown Coriolanus too much in 
the shade. Instead of energy and wisdom, he 
has given him zeal, and the experience belonging 
to age, figurative oratory, and prudent, whole- 
some sense ; his wit and skill in persuasion he 
mostly uses with those who have none of their 
own. He is as expert in the office of mediator 
as Coriolanus is inexpert. Instead of making 
lofty pretensions, he has a respect for human 
weakness ; compared with that overstrained na- 
ture he is indolent and easy, and where the other 
is rigid and unbending, Menenius is yielding, 
good-humored, sociable, and friendly ; instead of 



XXXvi INTRODUCTION 

gloomy seriousness, he indulges in a broad, 
pleasant humor. He is a good sleeper, he likes 
his wine unmixed; behind his back they say of 
him that he is ' something imperfect in favouring 
the first complaint.' There is not in him a vein 
of Coriolanus' pride, but only a little conceit in 
his gift of speaking, which seldom fails to succeed 
with the people, and which, in a case of extreme 
difficulty, he hopes to turn to good account with 
Coriolanus ; and his v anity feels itself wounded 
when the shallow trib unes think they ' know ' 
him because he is open and honest. If his pride 
is little compared to the haughtiness of Corio- 
lanus, Menenius' passionateness is in the same 
proportion. He can be hasty, and rage out with 
the good nature of choleric old age and on trifling 
occasions ; but in great matters, where Corio- 
lanus loses his temper, he is patient, calm, full of 
the greatest discretion, and perfectly master of 
himself." 

Gervinus : Shakespeare Commentaries. 

The Stage History of the Play 

Practically nothing is known of the stage pro- 
duction of Coriolanus in Shakespeare's time nor 
in the period immediately following his death. 
The first mention of it in English stage history 
appears in a remodeled version by Nahum Tate, 



STAGE HISTORY OF THE PLAY XXXV11 

entitled The Ingratitude of a Commonwealth, or 
The Fall of Caius Martins Coriolanus. Tate 
admitted his indebtedness to Shakespeare upon 
whose work he attempted to improve by adding 
to the last act such crude horrors as the suicide 
of Virgilia, the killing of Aufidius, a mad scene 
for Volumnia, the murder of Menenius, and the 
torture of young Martins. Tate produced the 
play at the Theater Royal in 1682 with the avowed 
purpose of teaching the public a lesson in sub- 
mission to established authority, but it was not 
very well received. 

The next English adaptation of which we have 
a record was the unsuccessful version of John 
Dennis, entitled The Invader of His Country, or 
The Fatal Resentment. This play, in which Booth 
played the leading role, was produced at the 
Drury Lane Theater, London, but was with- 
drawn after a few performances. The play had 
very little merit as Dennis had " outrageously 
mangled Shakespeare " in his efforts to improve 
upon him, but the author blamed the actors for 
its failure with the public. 

Thomson, the author of The Seasons, also 
wrote a tragedy on the same story which was 
produced after his death in 1749 at the Covent 
Garden Theater. For this play, the author ob- 
tained his material not from Plutarch but from 
the historians, Livy and Dionysius of Halicar- 



XXXV111 INTRODUCTION 

nassus. It was withdrawn after ten perform- 
ances, as it made but a small appeal even to 
audiences accustomed to long, pompous passages 
of wearisome declamation which formed a large 
part of it. 

In 1789, however, a notable series of produc- 
tions of a different version, consisting partly 
of Thomson's work but mostly of Shakespeare's, 
was presented at the Drury Lane Theater with 
Kemble as Coriolanus and his sister, Mrs. Sid- 
dons, as Volumnia. Kemble repeatedly revived 
the play and used it for his farewell appearance 
on the stage in 1817. Noted men of letters, as 
Scott, Lamb, and Hazlitt, have given us lavish 
praise of these representations. 

Edmund Kean and William Macready also 
essayed presentations of the play with the original 
text of the play, but neither added much to his 
reputation by doing so. Of the two, Macready 
was the more successful and played the part on 
numerous occasions. Edwin Forrest scored a 
notable success in America in his productions of 
the play in 1828 and the years following, while 
Edwin Booth, John McCullough, and Lawrence 
Barrett appeared in it at various times. 

In 1901, Sir Henry Irving, after a long period of 
preparation, attempted an elaborate revival, but 
his impersonation of the hero was rather unsatis- 
factory. Aside from this unsuccessful attempt at 



STRUCTURE OF THE VERSE xxxix 

revival, no important production of the play has 
been given in the present generation. 

The Structure of the Verse 

Like Shakespeare's other plays, Coriolanus is 
written partly in prose and partly in verse. The 
number of lines which are rimed is considerably 
less than in his earlier plays, as he seemed to 
prefer to use blank verse almost exclusively 
toward the end of his dramatic career. 

Shakespeare seems to have composed his lines 
less by rules of meter and more by ear. Conse- 
quently, the student should read the verse aloud 
before attempting to scan it, for he will then 
realize the need for some short lines consisting of 
but one or two metrical feet and for the pauses 
that occur from time to time when the thought 
ends at or near the middle of a poetic line. 

The verse generally employed by Shakespeare 
in his dramas consists of ten-syllable lines, the 
even syllables of which are stressed. Such lines 
are said to be written in iambic pentameter. 
The following is an example : 

/ s s s 

Against | the wind | a mile! | You souls | of 

geese." | — Act I, Sc. iv, 1. 54. 

'Variations from this form are, however, very 
common, and in the case of some lines, even 



xl INTRODUCTION 

cultivated readers are not in entire agreement 
as to the correct scansion. Some of our diffi- 
culties in this respect are doubtless due to the 
different way in which Elizabethans accented 
certain words, a few of which are referred to in 
the Notes. Most of them, however, have little 
interest for the average student, and a detailed 
analysis of them would only detract from the 
enjoyment of the more important features of the 
play. 

A few of these variations are : (a) the use of a 
spondee ; e.g. 

"All hurt | behind; | backs red, \ and fa|ces pale." | 
— Act I, Sc. iv, 1. 57. 

(b) The use of a trochee ; e.g. 

/ / / / / 

" Long as | my ex|ile, sweet | as my | revenge. "| — 

Act V, Sc. iii, 1. 54. 

(c) The use of an anapest ; e.g. 

/ / / / 

"I was forced \ to scold. | Your judg|ments, my | 

/ 
grave lords." | — Act V, Sc. vi, 1. 135. 

(d) The addition of an extra unstressed syllable, 
producing what is termed a feminine ending ; e.g. 



STRUCTURE OF THE VERSE xli 



/ / / / 

"Hear you | this Tri|ton of | the min|nows? 

Mark (you) 
His absolute shall?" —Act III, Sc. i, 11. 130-131. 

For a fuller discussion of the peculiarities of 
Shakespeare's verse, the student should consult 
Gummere's " Book of Verse " or Mayor's " Chap- 
ters on English Metre." 

Prose is used largely for comedy, such as the 
scenes in which Menenius appears ; in simple 
conversation pertaining to domestic life such as 
the conversation between the three women in 
Act I, Scene iii ; and, in general, in scenes of 
" low life," such as the scene in the kitchen in 
Act IV in which the servingmen are conversing. 
However, it must be observed that when a char- 
acter who speaks in prose becomes emotional, he 
invariably breaks into blank verse. As an ex- 
ample, note how Marcius turns from prose to 
poetry in Act II, Scene iii. 

Shakespeare's English 

In reading any of Shakespeare's plays, the 
student must bear in mind the fact that the lan- 
guage of the Elizabethans was not as fixed and 
as standardized as ours is to-day. The spelling 
of words was full of variations, even proper 



xlii INTRODUCTION 

names showing numerous differences. Besides, 
words were not always accented on the same 
syllable, words which we consider necessary 
were often omitted, and inflections of certain 
words now rarely used, but common in Old 
English, were retained. Some of these differences 
between Shakespeare's English and our modern 
speech have been referred to in the Notes, but a 
student who wishes to study them more fully 
should consult Abbott's Shakesperian Grammar. 
The student beginning the study of Shakespeare 
need not attempt to master all the intricate de- 
tails of this subject, but may rest content with 
a knowledge of the more common differences 
such as : 

(a) The use of one part of speech for another, 
usually the adjective as an adverb or the noun 
used as a verb ; e.g. 

"Our tradesmen singing in their shops and going 
About their functions friendly." — IV, vi, 10. 

"Who . . . bonneted, without any further deed to 
have them at all into their estimation and report." — 
II, ii, 29-32. 

(b) The omission of words because of the desire 
for brevity. The ellipsis may be the omission of 
to before the infinitive, or even of the infinitive 
itself ; ' it may be th6 omission of the pronoun, 
especially the relative ; it may be the omission 



SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLISH xliii 

of the verb, usually when the verb denotes 
motion; or it may be the still more common 
omission of the preposition. The following are 
examples of each of these : 

" I will go wash." — I, ix, 83. 

"What, art thou stiff? stand' st .out? " — I, i, 307. 

"I will not out of doors." — I, iii, 81. 

"While she chats him." — II, i, 243. 

(c) Inflections of various parts of speech are 
often misused and frequently not used at all. 
Personal pronouns, relative pronouns, and adjec- 
tives should be carefully watched to detect these 
variations from modern usage. Besides, ex- 
amples of the double comparative, which are 
easily detected, occur frequently. 



xliv INTRODUCTION 



Bibliography 

Biographical. 

Sidney Lee : Life of Shakespeare. 
W. J. Rolfe : Shakespeare, the Boy. 
Halliwell-Phillips : Life of Shakespeare. 
James Walter : True Life of Shakespeare. 
A. S. Thorndike : Facts about Shakespeare. 

Critical. 

H. N. Hudson : Shakespeare's Life, Art, and 
Characters. 

H. W. Mabie : Shakespeare : Poet, Dramatist, 
and Man. 

R. G. Moulton : Shakespeare as a Dramatic 
Artist. 

Brander Matthews : Shakespeare as a Play- 
wright. 

Georg Brandes : William Shakespeare. 

G. G. Gervinus : Shakespeare Commentaries. 

Edward Dowden : Shakspere, His Mind and 
Art. 

Anna Jamieson : Shakespeare' 's Heroines. 

M. W. MacCallum : Shakespeare's Roman 
Plays. 

R. G. White : Studies in Shakespeare. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY xlv 

Linguistic. 

Clarke : A Concordance to Shakespeare. 
Abbott : A Shakesperian Grammar. 
Schmidt : Shakespeare Lexicon. 

Historical. 

Shakespeare's England (Oxford University 
Press). 

A. W. Ward : The History of English Dramatic 
Literature. 

T. F. Ordish: Early London Theatres. 

Thomas North: Plutarch' s* Lives (Skeat Edi 
tion) . 

Any History of Rome. 



CORIOLANUS 



DRAMATIS PERSONS 



Caius Marcius, afterwards Caius Marcitjs Coriolanus. 

Titus Lartius, / , . , ,. , r . . 

~ / generals against the Volscians. 

Cominius, ) 

Menenius Agrippa, friend to Coriolanus. 

Sicinius Velutus, / . .. tll , 

_, > tribunes ol the people. 

Junius Brutus, ) 

Young Marcius, son of Coriolanus. 

A Roman Herald. 

Tullus Aufidius, general of the Volscians. 

Lieutenant to Aufidius. 

Conspirators with Aufidius. 

A Citizen of Antiuni. 

Two Volscian Guards. 

Volumnia, mother to Coriolanus. 

Virgilia, wife to Coriolanus. 

Valeria, friend to Virgilia. 

Gentlewoman attending on Virgilia. 

Roman and Volscian Senators, Patricians, iEdiles, Lictors, Sol- 
diers, Citizens, Messengers, Servants to Aufidius, and other 
Attendants. 

Scene: Rome and the neighbourhood; Corioli and the neighbour- 
hood; Antium. 



THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 



ACT FIRST. — Scene I 

Rome. A street. 

Enter a company of mutinous Citizens, with 
staves, clubs, and other weapons. 

First Cit. Before we proceed any further, hear 

me speak. 
All. Speak, speak. 
First Cit. You are all resolved rather to die 

than to famish ? 5 

All. Resolved, resolved. 

First Cit. First, you know Caius Marcius is 
chief enemy to the people. 
All. We know't, we know't. 
First Cit. Let us kill him, and we'll have corn 10 
at our own price. Is't a verdict? 
b 1 



2 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

All. No more talking on't ; let it be done : 

away, away ! 
Sec. Cit. One word, good citizens, 
is First Cit. We are accounted poor citizens ; the 
patricians, good. What authority surfeits on 
would relieve us : if they would yield us but the 
superfluity while it were wholesome, we might 
guess they relieved us humanely ; but they think 
20 we are too dear : the leanness that afflicts us, 
the object of our misery, is as an inventory to 
particularize their abundance; our sufferance 
is a gain to them. Let us revenge this with our 
pikes, ere we become rakes : for the gods know 
25 I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst 
for revenge. 

Sec. Cit.° Would you proceed especially against 
Caius Marcius ? 

All. Against him first; he's a very dog° to 
30 the commonalty. 

Sec. Cit. Consider you what services he has 
done for his country? 

First Cit. Very well ; and could be content 
to give him good report for't, but that he pays 
35 himself with being proud. 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 3 

Sec. Cit. Nay, but speak not maliciously. 

First Cit. I say unto you, what he hath done 
famously, he did it to that end : though sof t- 
conscienced men can be content to say it was for 
his country, he did it to please his mother and 40 
to be partly proud; which he is, even to the 
altitude of his virtue. 

Sec. Cit. What he cannot help in his nature, 
you account a vice in him. You must in no way 
say he is covetous. 45 

First Cit. If I must not, I need not be barren 
of accusations ; he hath faults, with surplus, to 
tire in repetition. [Shouts within.] What shouts 
are these ? The other side o' the city is risen : 
why stay we prating here ? to the Capitol ! so 

All. Come, come. 

First Cit. Soft ! who comes here ? 

Enter Menenius Agrippa. 

Sec. Cit. Worthy Menenius Agrippa; one 
that hath always loved the people. 

First Cit. He's one honest enough : would all 55 
the rest were so ! 



4 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

Men. What work's, my countrymen, in hand ? 
where go you 
With bats° and clubs ? the matter ? speak, I pray 
6o you. 

First Cit. Our business is not unknown to the 
senate ; they have had inkling, this fortnight, 
what we intend to do, which now we'll show 'em 
in deeds. They say poor suitors have strong 
65 breaths ; they shall know we have strong arms 
too. 

Men. Why, masters, my good friends, mine 
honest neighbours, 
Will you undo yourselves ? 
70 First Cit. We cannot, sir, we are undone 
already. 
Men. I tell you, friends, most charitable care 
Have the patricians of you. For your wants, 
Your suffering in this dearth, you may as well 
75 Strike at the heaven with your staves as lift them 
Against the Roman state ; whose course will on 
The way it takes, cracking ten thousand curbs 
Of more strong link asunder than can ever 
Appear in your impediment. For the dearth, 
80 The gods, not the patricians, make it, and 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 5 

Your knees to them, not arms, must help. 

Alack, 
You are transported by calamity 
Thither where more attends you,° and you slander 
The helms o' the state, who care for you like 85 

fathers, 
When you curse them as enemies. 

First Cit. Care for us ! True, indeed ! They 
ne'er cared for us yet : suffer us to famish, and 
their store-houses crammed with grain ; make 90 
edicts for usury, to support usurers ; repeal daily 
any wholesome act established against the rich, 
and provide more piercing statutes daily, to chain 
up and restrain the poor. If the wars eat us not 
up, they will ; and there's all the love they bear us. 95 

Men. Either you must 
Confess yourselves wondrous malicious, 
Or be accused of folly. I shall tell you 
A pretty tale : it may be you have heard it ; 
But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture 10c 
To stale't a little more. 

First Cit. Well, I'll hear it, sir : yet you must 
not think to fob off° our disgrace with a tale : but, 
an't please you, deliver. 
i 



6 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

105 Men. There was a time when all the body's 
members 
Rebell'd against the belly ; thus accused it : 
That only like a gulf it did remain 
I' the midst o' the body, idle and unactive, 
no Still cupboarding the viand, never bearing 

Like labour with the rest; where the other in- 
struments 
Did see and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel, 
And, mutually participate, did minister 
115 Unto the appetite and affection common 
Of the whole body. The belly answer'd — 
First Cit. Well, sir, what answer made the 

belly ? 
Men. Sir, I shall tell you. With a kind of 
120 smile, 

Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even 

thus — 
For, look you,° I may make the belly smile 
As well as speak — it tauntingly replied 
125 To the discontented members, the mutinous parts 
That envied his receipt ; even so most fitly 
As you malign our senators for that 
They are not such as you. 

t 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 7 

First Cit.° Your belly's answer ? What ! 

The kingly-crowned head, the vigilant eye, 130 

The counsellor heart, the arm our soldier, 
Our steed the leg, the tongue our trumpeter, 
With other muniments and petty helps 
In this our fabric, if that they — 

Men. What then ? 13s 

'Fore me,° this fellow speaks ! what then ? what 
then? 

First Cit. Should by the cormorant belly be 
restrain'd, 
Who is the sink o' the body, — 140 

Men. Well, what then ? 

First Cit. The former agents, if they did 
complain, 
What could the belly answer ? 

Men. I will tell you ; 145 

If you'll bestow a small — of what you have 

little — 
Patience awhile, you'st hear the belly's answer. 

First Cit. You're long about it. 

Men. Note me° this, good friend ; 150 

Your most grave belly was deliberate, 
Not rash like his accusers, and thus answer'd : 



8 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

'True is it, my incorporate friends/ quoth he, 
' That I receive the general food at first, 
iS5 Which you do live upon ; and fit it is, 
Because I am the store-house and the shop 
Of the whole body : but, if you do remember, 
I send it through the rivers of your blood, 
Even to the court, the heart, to the seat o' the 
1 60 brain ; 

And, through the cranks and offices of man, 
The strongest nerves and small inferior veins 
From me receive that natural competency 
Whereby they live : and though that all at once, 
165 You, my good friends,' — this says the belly, 
mark me, — 
First Cit. Ay, sir ; well, well. 
Men. ' Though all at once cannot 

See what I do deliver out to each, 
170 Yet I can make my audit up, that all 
From me do back receive the flour of all, 
And leave me but the bran.' What say you to't ? 
First Cit. It was an answer : how apply you 
this? 
175 Men. The senators of Rome are this good 
belly, 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 9 

And you the mutinous members : for examine 
Their counsels and their cares, digest things 

rightly 
Touching the weal o' the common, you shall find 180 
No public benefit which you receive 
But it proceeds or comes from them to you 
And no way from yourselves. What do you 

think, 
You, the great toe° of this assembly? 185 

First Cit. I the great toe ! why the great toe ? 
Men. For that, being one o' the lowest, basest, 

poorest, 
Of this most wise rebellion, thou go'st foremost : 
Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run, 190 

Lead'st first to win some vantage. 
But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs : 
Rome and her rats are at the point of battle ; 
The one side must have bale. 

Enter Caius Marcius. 

Hail, noble Marcius ! 19s 
Mar. Thanks. What's the matter, you dis- 
sentious rogues, 



10 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, 
Make yourselves scabs ? 
200 First Cit. We have ever your good word. 
Mar. He that will give good words to thee will 
flatter 
Beneath abhorring. What would you have, you 
curs, 
205 That like nor peace nor war ? the one affrights 
you, 
The other makes you proud. He that trusts to 

you, 
Where he should find you lions, finds you hares, 
210 Where foxes, geese : you are no surer, no, 
Than is the coal of fire upon the ice, 
Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is° 
To make him worthy whose offence subdues him 
And curse that justice did it. Who deserves 
215 greatness 

Deserves your hate ; and your affections are 
A sick man's appetite, who desires most that 
Which would increase his evil. He that depends 
Upon your favours swims with fins of lead 
220 And hews down the oaks with rushes. Hang ye ! 
Trust ye ? 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 11 

With every minute you do change a mind, 
And call him noble that was now your hate, 
Him vile that was your garland. What's the 

matter, 22S 

That in these several places of the city 
You cry against the noble senate, who, 
Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else 
Would feed on one another? What's their seek- 
ing ? 2 3° 
Men. For corn at their own rates ; whereof, 

they say, 
The city is well stored. 

Mar. Hang 'em ! They say ! 

They'll sit by the fire, and presume to know 23s 

What's done i' the Capitol; who's like to 

rise, 
W T ho thrives and who declines ; side factions and 

give out 
Conjectural marriages ; making parties strong, 240 
And feebling such as stand not in their liking 
Below their cobbled shoes. They say there's 

grain enough ! 
Would the nobility lay aside their ruth,° 
And let me use my sword, I'ld make a quarry 245 



12 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

With thousands of these quarter' d slaves, as high 
As I could pick my lance. 

Men. Nay, these are almost thoroughly per- 
suaded ; 
250 For though abundantly they lack discretion, 
Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseech 

you, 
What says the other troop ? 

Mar. They are dissolved : hang 'em ! 

255 They said they were an-hungry ; sigh'd forth 
proverbs, 
That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat, 
That meat was made for mouths, that the gods 
sent not 
260 Corn for the rich men only : with these shreds 
They vented their complainings ; which being 

answer'd, 
And a petition granted them, a strange one — 
To break the heart of generosity 
265 And make bold power look pale — they threw 
their caps 
As they would hang them on the horns o' the 

moon, 
Shouting their emulation, 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 13 

Men. What is granted them ? 270 

Mar. Five tribunes to defend their vulgar 
wisdoms, 
Of their own choice : one's Junius Brutus, 
Sicinius Velutus, and I know not — 'Sdeath ! 
The rabble should have first unroof d the city, 275 
Ere so prevail'd with me : it will in time 
Win upon power and throw forth greater themes 
For insurrection's arguing. 

Men. This is strange. 

Mar. Go get you home, you fragments ! 280 

Enter a Messenger, hastily. 

Mess. Where's Caius Marcius ? 
Mar. Here : what's the matter ? 

Mess. The news is, sir, the Volsces are in arms. 
Mar. I am glad on't : then we shall ha' means 
to vent 285 

Our musty superfluity. See, our best elders. 

Enter Cominius, Titus Lartius, and other 
Senators; Junius Brutus and Sicinius 
Velutus. 



14 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

First Sen. Marcius, 'tis true that you have 
lately told us ; 
The Volsces are in arms. 
290 Mar. They have a leader, 

Tullus Aufidius, that will put you to't.° 
I sin in envying his nobility ; 
And were I any thing but what I am, 
I would wish me only he. 
295 Com. You have fought together ? 

Mar. Were half to half the world by the ears, 
and he 
Upon my party, Fid revolt, to make 
Only my wars with him : he is a lion 
300 That I am proud to hunt. 

First Sen. Then, worthy Marcius, 

Attend upon Cominius to these wars. 
Com. It is your former promise. 
Mar. Sir, it is ; 

305 And I am constant. Titus Lartius, thou 
Shalt see me once more strike at Tullus' face. 
What, art thou stiff ? stand'st out° ? 

Tit. No, Caius Marcius ; 

I'll lean upon one crutch, and fight with t'other, 
310 Ere stay behind this business. 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 15 

Men. O, true-bred ! 

First Sen. Your company to the Capitol ; 
where, I know, 
Our greatest friends attend us. 

Tit. [To Com.] Lead you on.° 315 

[ To Mar.] Follow Cominius ; we must follow 
you; 
Right worthy you priority. 

Com. Noble Marcius ! 

First Sen. [To the Citizens] Hence to your 320 

home, be gone ! 
Mar . Nay, let them follow : 

The Volsces have much corn; take these rats 

thither 
Tc gnaw their garners. Worshipful mutiners, 325 
Your valour puts well forth : pray, follow. 

[Citizens steal away. Exeunt all 
but Sicinius and Brutus. 
Sic. Was ever man so proud as is this Mar- 
cius? 

Bru. He has no equal. 

Sic. When we were chosen tribunes for the 330 
people, — 

Bru. Mark'd you his lip and eyes? 



16 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

Sic. Nay, but his taunts. 

Bru. Being moved, he will not spare to gird° 
335 the gods. 

Sic. Bemock the modest moon.° 
Bru. The present wars devour him° ! he is 
grown 
Too proud to be so valiant. 
340 Sic. Such a nature, 

Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow 
Which he treads on at noon : but I do wonder 
His insolence can brook to be commanded 
Under Cominius. 
345 Bru. Fame, at the which he aims, 

In whom already he's well graced, cannot 
Better be held, nor more attain'd, than by 
A place below the first : for what miscarries 
Shall be the general's fault, though he per- 
35° form 

To the utmost of a man ; and giddy censure 
Will then cry out of Marcius ' O, if he 
Had borne the business ! ' 

Sic. Besides, if things go well, 

355 Opinion, that so sticks on Marcius, shall 
Of his demerits rob Cominius. 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 17 

Bru. Come : 

Half all Cominius' honours are to Marcius, 
Though Marcius earn'd them not; and all his 

faults 3 6o 

To Marcius shall be honours, though indeed 
In aught he merit not. 

Sic. Let's hence, and hear 

How the dispatch is made ; and in what fashion, 
More than his singularity, he goes 365 

Upon this present action. 

Bru. Let's along. [Exeunt. 

Scene II. 

Corioli. The Senate-house. 

Enter Tullus Aufidius, with Senators of Corioli. 

First Sen. So, your opinion is, Aufidius, 
That they of Rome are enter'd in°our counsels, 
And know how we proceed. 
Auf. Is it not yours ? 

What ever have been thought on in this state, 5 
That could be brought to bodily act° ere Rome 
Had circumvention ? 'Tis not four days gone 
Since I heard thence : these are the words : I think 



18 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

I have the letter here : yes, here it is : 
10 [Reads] 'They have press'd a power, but it is 
not known 

Whether for east or west : the dearth is great ; 

The people mutinous : and it is rumour' d, 

Cominius, Marcius your old enemy, 
is Who is of Rome worse hated than of you, 

And Titus Lartius, a most valiant Roman, 

These three lead on this preparation 

Whither 'tis bent : most likely 'tis for you : 

Consider of it.' 
20 First Sen. Our army's in the field : 

We never yet made doubt but Rome was ready 

To answer us.° 

Anf. Nor did you think it folly 

To keep your great pretences veil'd till when 
25 They needs must show themselves ; which in the 
hatching, 

It seem'd, appear'd to Rome. By the discovery 

We shall be shorten' d in our aim, which was 

To take in° many towns ere almost Rome 
30 Should know we were afoot. 

Sec. Sen. Noble Aufidius, 

Take your commission ; hie you to your bands : 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 19 

Let us alone to guard Corioli : 

If they set down before's, for the remove 

Bring up your army; but, I think, you'll find 35 

They've not prepared for us. 

Auf. O, doubt not that ; 

I speak from certainties. Nay, more, 
Some parcels of their power are forth already, 
And only hitherward. I leave your honours. 40 
If we and Caius Marcius chance to meet, 
'Tis sworn between us, we shall ever strike 
Till one can do no more. 

All. The gods assist you ! 

Auf. And keep your honours safe ! 45 

First Seii. Farewell. 

Sec. Sen. Farewell. 

All. Farewell. [Exeunt. 

Scene III. 

Rome. A room in Marcius' house. 

Enter Volumnia and Virgilia : they set them 
down on two low stools, and sew. 

Vol. I pray you, daughter, sing, or express 
yourself in a more comfortable sort : if my son 



20 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

were my husband, I should freelier rejoice in that 
absence wherein he won honour than in the 

s embracements where he would show most love. 
. When yet he was but tender-bodied, and my only 
son ; when youth with comeliness plucked all 
gaze his way ; when, for a day of kings' en- 
treaties, a mother should not sell him an hour 

10 from her beholding ; I, considering how honour 
would become such a person ; that it was no 
better than picture-like to hang by the wall, if 
renown made it not stir, was pleased to let him 
seek danger where he was like to find fame. To a 

15 cruel war° I sent him ; from whence he returned, 
his brows bound with oak.° I tell thee, daughter, 
I sprang not more in joy at first hearing he was 
a man-child than now in first seeing he had proved 
himself a man. 

20 Vir. But had he died in the business, madam : 

how then? 

Vol. Then his good report should have been 

my son ; I therein would have found issue. Hear 

me profess sincerely : had I a dozen sons, each in 

25 my love alike, and none less dear than thine and 
my good Marcius, I had rather had eleven die 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 21 

nobly for their country than one voluptuously 
surfeit out of action. 

Enter a Gentlewoman. 

Gent. Madam, the Lady Valeria is come to 

visit you. 30 

Vir. Beseech you, give me leave to retire 
myself. 
' Vol. Indeed, you shall not. 
Methinks I hear hither your husband's drum ; 
See him pluck Aufidius down by the hair ; 35 

As children from a bear, the Volsces shunning 

him : 
Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call thus : 
' Come on, you cowards ! you were got in fear, 
Though you were born in Rome:' his bloody 4 o 

brow 
With his mail'd hand then wiping, forth he goes, 
Like to a harvest-man that's task'd to mow 
Or all, or lose his hire. 

Vir. His bloody brow ! O Jupiter, no blood ! 45 
Vol. Away, you fool ! it more becomes a man 
Than gilt his trophy. 



22 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

Tell Valeria 
We are fit to bid her welcome. [Exit Gent. 

50 Vir. Heavens bless my lord from fell 
Aufldius ! 

Vol. He'll beat Aufldius' head below his knee, 
And tread upon his neck. 

Enter Valeria, with an Usher and 
Gentlewoman. 

Val. My ladies both, good day to you. 
55 Vol. Sweet madam. 

Vir. I am glad to see your ladyship. 
Val. How do you both? you are manifest 
housekeepers. What are you sewing here? A 
fine spot, in good faith. How does your little 
6o son ? 

Vir. I thank your ladyship ; well, good 
madam. 

Vol. He had rather see the swords and hear a 

drum than look upon his schoolmaster. 

65 Val. O' my word, the father's son ; I'll swear, 

'tis a very pretty boy. O' my troth, I looked upon 

him o' Wednesday half an hour together; has 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 23 

such a confirmed countenance. I saw him run 
after a gilded butterfly ; and when he caught it, 
he let it go again ; and after it again ; and over 70 
and over he comes, and up again; catched it 
again : or whether his fall enraged him, or how 
it was, he did so set his teeth, and tear it ; O, 
I warrant, how he mammocked it ! 

Vol. One on's father's moods. 75 

Vol. Indeed, la,° 'tis a noble child. 

Vir. A crack, madam. 

Vol. Come, lay aside your stitchery ; I must 
have you play the idle huswife with me this after- 
noon. 80 

Vir. No, good madam ; I will not out of doors. 

Vol. Not out of doors ! 

Vol. She shall, she shall. 

Vir. Indeed, no, by your patience; I'll not 
over the threshold till my lord return from the 85 
wars. 

Val. Fie, you confine yourself most un- 
reasonably: come, you must go visit the good 
lady that lies ill. 

Vir. I will wish her speedy strength, and visit 90 
her with my prayers ; but I cannot go thither. 



24 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

Vol. Why, I pray you ? 

Vir. 'Tis not to save labour, nor that I want 

love. 

95 Vol. You would be another Penelope : yet, 

they say, all the yarn she spun in Ulysses' absence 

did but fill Ithaca full of moths. Come ; I 

would your cambric were sensible as your finger, 

that you might leave pricking it for pity. Come, 

iooyou shall go with us. 

Vir. No, good madam, pardon me; indeed, 
I will not forth. 

Vol. In truth, la, go with me, and I'll tell 
you excellent news of your husband. 
105 Vir. O, good madam, there can be none yet. 
Vol. Verily, I do not jest with you; there 
came news from him last night. 
Vir. Indeed, madam ? 

Vol. In earnest, it's true ; I heard a senator 
no speak it. Thus it is : the Volsces have an army 
forth; against whom Cominius the general is 
gone, with one part of our R,oman power : your 
lord and Titus Lartius are set down before their 
city Corioli ; they nothing doubt prevailing, and 
115 to make it brief wars. This is true, on mine 
honour ; and so, I pray, go with us. 



Scene 4.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 25 

Vir. Give me excuse, good madam ; I will 
obey you in every thing hereafter. 

Vol. Let her alone, lady ; as she is now, she 
will but disease our better mirth. 120 

Vol. In troth, I think she would. Fare you 
well, then. Come, good sweet lady. Prithee, 
Virgilia, turn thy solemness out o' door, and go 
along with us. 

Vir. No, at a word, madam ; indeed, I must 125 
not. 
I wish you much mirth. 

Vol. Well then, farewell. [Exeunt. 

Scene IV. 

Before Corioli. 

Enter, with drum and colours, Marcius, Titus 
Lartius, Captains and Soldiers. To them 
a Messenger. 

Mar. Yonder comes news ; a wager they have 

met. 
Lart. My horse to yours, no. 
Mar. Tis done. 



26 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

5 Lart. Agreed. 

Mar. Say, has our general met the enemy ? 
Mess. They lie in view ; but have not spoke 

as yet. 
Lart. So, the good horse is mine. 
10 Mar. I'll buy him of you. 

Lart. No, I'll nor sell nor give him : lend you 
him I will 
For half a hundred years. Summon the town. 
Mar. How far off lie these armies ? 
is Mess. Within this mile and half. 

Mar. Then shall we hear their 'larum,° and 
they ours. 
Now, Mars, I prithee, make us quick in work, 
That we with smoking swords may march from 
20 hence, 
To help our fielded friends ! Come, blow thy 
blast. 

They sound a parley. Enter two Senators with 
others, on the walls. 

Tullus Aufidius, is he within your walls ? 

First Sen. No, nor a man that fears you less 
25 than he, 



Scene 4.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 27 

That's lesser than a little. Hark, our drums 

[Drums afar off. 
Are bringing forth our youth ! we'll break our 

walls, 
Rather than they shall pound us up° : our gates, 
Which yet seem shut, we have but pinn'd with 30 

rushes ; 
They'll open of themselves. Hark you^ far off ! 

[Alarum far off. 
There is Aufidius ; list, what work he makes 
Amongst your cloven army. 

Mar. O, they are at it ! 35 

hart. Their noise be our instruction. Lad- 
ders, ho ! 

Enter the army of the Volsces. 

Mar. They fear us not, but issue forth their 

city. 
Now put your shields before your hearts, and fight 4° 
With hearts more proof than shields. Advance, 

brave Titus : 
They do disdain us much beyond our thoughts, 
Which makes me sweat with wrath. Come on, 

my fellows : 45 



28 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

He that retires, I'll take him for a Volsce, 
And he shall feel mine edge. 

Alarum. The Romans are beat back to their 
trenches. Re-enter Marcius, cursing. 

Mar. All the contagion of the south light on 
you, 
so You shames of Rome ! you herd of — Boils and 
plagues 
Plaster you o'er ; that you may be abhorr'd 
Farther than seen, and one infect another 
Against the wind a mile ! You souls of geese, 
55 That bear the shapes of men, how have you run 
From slaves that apes would beat ! Pluto and 

hell ! 
All hurt behind ; backs red, and faces pale 
With flight and agued° fear ! Mend, and charge 
60 home, 

Or, by the fires of heaven, I'll leave the foe, 
And make my wars on you : look to't ! come on ; 
If you'll stand fast, we'll beat them to their 
wives, 
65 As they us to our trenches followed. 



Scene 4.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 29 

Another alarum. The Volsces fly, and Marcius 
follows them to the gates. 

So, now the gates are ope : now prove good 

seconds : 
'Tis for the followers fortune widens them, 
Not for the fliers : mark me, and do the like. 

[Enters the gates. 
First Sol. Fool-hardiness ; not I.° 70 

Sec. Sol. Nor I. [Marcius is shut in. 

First Sol. See, they have shut him in. 
All. To the pot,° I warrant him. 

[Alarum continues. 

Re-enter Titus Lartius. 

Lart. What is become of Marcius ? 

All. Slain, sir, doubtless. 75 

First Sol. Following the fliers at the very heels, 
With them he enters ; who, upon the sudden, 
Clapp'd to their gates : he is himself alone, 
To answer all the city. 

Lart. O noble fellow ! 80 

Who sensibly outdares his senseless sword, 



30 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act 1. 

And, when it bows, stands up ! Thou art left, 

Marcius : 
A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art, 

8s Were not so rich a jewel. Thou wast a soldier 
Even to Cato's wish, not fierce and terrible 
Only in strokes ; but, with thy grim looks and 
The thunder-like percussion of thy sounds, 
Thou madest thine enemies shake, as if the world 

go Were feverous and did tremble. 

Re-enter Marcius, bleeding, assaulted by the enemy. 

First Sol. Look, sir. 

Lart. O, 'tis Marcius ! 

Let's fetch him off, or make remain alike. 

[ They fight, and all enter the city. 

Scene V. 

Within Corioli. A street. 

Enter certain Romans, with spoils. 

First Rom. This will I carry to Rome. 
Sec. Rom. And I this. 

Third Rom. A murrain on't ! I took this for 
silver. [Alarum continues still afar off. 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 31 

Enter Marcius and Titus Lartius with a 
trumpet. 

Mar. See here these movers that do prize 5 

their hours 
At a crack'd drachma ! Cushions, leaden spoons, 
Irons of a doit,° doublets that hangmen would 
Bury with those that wore them, these base 

slaves, 10 

Ere yet the fight be done, pack up : down with 

them ! 
And hark, what noise the general makes ! To 

him ! 
There is the man of my soul's hate, Aufidius, 15 
Piercing our Romans : then, valiant Titus, take 
Convenient numbers to make good the city ; 
Whilst I, with those that have the spirit, will 

haste 
To help Cominius. 20 

Lart. Worthy sir, thou bleed'st ; 

Thy exercise hath been too violent 
For a second course of fight. 

Mar. Sir, praise me not ; 

My work hath yet not warm'd me : fare you well : 25 



32 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

The blood I drop is rather physical 
Than dangerous to me : to Aufidius thus 
I will appear, and fight. 

Lart. Now the fair goddess, Fortune, 

30 Fall deep in love with thee ; and her great charms 
Misguide thy opposers' swords ! Bold gentleman, 
Prosperity be thy page ! 

Mar. Thy friend no less 

Than those she placeth highest ! So farewell. 
35 Lart. Thou worthiest Marcius ! 

[Exit Marcius. 
Go sound thy trumpet in the market-place ; 
Call thither all the officers o' the town, 
Where they shall know our mind. Away ! 

[Exeunt. 

Scene VI. 

Near the camp of Cominius. 

Enter Cominius, as it were in retire, with Soldiers. 

Com. Breathe you, my friends : well fought ; 
we are come off 
Like Romans, neither foolish in our stands, 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 33 

Nor cowardly in retire : believe me, sirs, 

We shall be charged again. Whiles we have 5 

struck, 
By interims and conveying gusts we have heard 
The charges of our friends. Ye Roman gods, 
Lead their successes as we wish our own, 
That both our powers, with smiling fronts en- 10 

countering, 
May give you thankful sacrifice ! 

Enter a Messenger. 

Thy news ? 
Mess. The citizens of Corioli have issued, 
And given to Lartius and to Marcius battle : 15 

I saw our party to their trenches driven, 
And then I came away. 

Com. Though thou speak'st truth, 

Methinks thou speak'st not well. How long is't 
since ? 20 

Mess. Above an hour, my lord. 
Com. 'Tis not a mile ; briefly we heard their 
drums : 
How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour, 
And bring thy news so late ? 25 



34 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

Mess. Spies of the Volsces 

Held me in chase, that I was forced to wheel 
Three or four miles about ; else had I, sir, 
Half an hour since brought my report. 

Enter Marcius. 

30 Com. Who's yonder, 

That does appear as he were flay'd ? gods ! 
He has the stamp of Marcius ; and I have 
Before-time seen him thus. 

Mar. Come I too late ? 

35 Com. The shepherd knows not thunder from 
a tabor 
More than I know the sound of Marcius' tongue 
From every meaner man. 

Mar. Come I too late ? 

40 Com. Ay, if you come not in the blood of 
others, 
But mantled in your own. 

Mar. O, let me clip ye 

In arms as sound as when I woo'd ; in heart 

45 As merry as when our nuptial day was done. 

Com. Flower of warriors, 

How is't with Titus Lartius ? 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 35 

Mar. As with a man busied about decrees : 
Condemning some to death, and some to exile ; 
Ransoming him or pitying, threatening the 50 

other ; 
Holding Corioli in the name of Rome, 
Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash, 
To let him slip at will. 

Com. Where is that slave 55 

Which told me they had beat you to your 

trenches ! 
Where is he ? call him hither. 

Mar. Let him alone ; 

He did inform the truth : but for our gentlemen, 60 
The common file — a plague ! tribunes for 

them ! — 
The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat as they did 

budge 
From rascals worse than they. 65 

Com. But how prevail'd you ? 

Mar. Will the time serve to tell? I do not 
think. 
Where is the enemy ? are you lords o' the field ? 
If not, why cease you till you are so ? 70 

Com. Marcius, 



36 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

We have at disadvantage fought, and did 
Retire to win our purpose. 

Mar. How lies their battle ? know you on 
75 which side 

They have placed their men of trust? 

Com. As I guess, Marcius, 

Their bands i' the vaward are the Antiates, 
Of the best trust ; o'er them Aufidius, 
80 Their very heart of hope. 

Mar. I do beseech you, 

By all the battles wherein we have fought, 
By the blood we have shed together, by the vows 
We have made to endure friends, that you directly 
85 Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates ; 
And that you not delay the present, but, 
Filling the air with swords advanced and darts, 
We prove this very hour. 

Com. Though I could wish 

90 You were conducted to a gentle bath, 
And balms applied to you, yet dare I never 
Deny your asking : take your choice of those 
That best can aid your action. 

Mar. Those are they 

9 5 That most are willing. If any such be here — 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 37 

As it were sin to doubt — that love this painting 

Wherein you see me smear'd ; if any fear° 

Lesser his person than an ill report ; 

If any think brave death outweighs bad life, 

And that his country's dearer than himself ; ioo 

Let him alone, or so many so minded, 

Wave thus, to express his disposition, 

And follow Marcius. 

[They all shout, and wave their swords; take 
him up in their arms, and cast up their caps. 
O, me alone ! make you a sword of me° ? 
If these shows be not outward, which of you 105 

But is four Volsces ? none of you but is 
Able to bear against the great Aufidius 
A shield as hard as his. A certain number, 
Though thanks to all, must I select from all : the 

rest no 

Shall bear the business in some other fight, 
As cause will be obey'd. Please you to march ; 
And four shall quickly draw out my command, 
Which men are best inclined. 

Com. March on, my fellows : 115 

Make good this ostentation, and you shall 
Divide in all with us. [Exeunt. 



38 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

Scene VII. 

The gates of Corioli. 

Titus Lartius, having set a guard upon Corioli, 
going with drum and trumpet toward Cominius 
and Caius Marcius, enters with a Lieutenant, 
other Soldiers, and a Scout. 

Lart. So, let the ports be guarded : keep your 
duties, 
As I have set them down. If I do send, dispatch 
Those centuries to our aid ; the rest will serve 
5 For a short holding : if we lose the field, 
We cannot keep the town. 

Lieu. Fear not our care, sir. 

Lart. Hence, and shut your gates upon's. 
Our guider, come ; to the Roman camp conduct 
10 us. [Exeunt. 



Scene 8.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 39 

Scene VIII. 

A field of battle between the Roman and the Volscian 

camps. 

Alarum as in battle. Enter, from opposite sides, 
Marcius and Aufidius. 

Mar. I'll fight with none but thee ; for I do 
hate thee 
Worse than a promise-breaker. 

Auf. We hate alike : 

Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor 5 

More than thy fame and envy.° Fix thy foot. 

Mar. Let the first budger die the other's slave, 
And the gods doom him after ! 

Auf. If I fly, Marcius, 

Holloa me like a hare. io 

Mar. Within these three hours, Tullus, 

Alone I fought in your Corioli walls, 
And made what work I pleased : 'tis not my blood 
Wherein thou seest me mask'd ; for thy revenge 
Wrench up° thy power to the highest. IS 

Auf. Wert thou the Hector 



40 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny, 
Thou shouldst not 'scape me here. 

[ The y fight, and certain Volsces come in the aid 
of Aufidius. Martins fights till they are driven 
in breathless. 

Officious, and not valiant, you have shamed me 
20 In your condemned seconds. [Exeunt. 

Scene IX. 

The Roman camp. 

Flourish. Alarum. A retreat is sounded. Enter, 
from one side, Cominius with the Romans; from 
the other side, Marcius, with his arm in a scarf. 

Com. If I should tell thee o'er this thy day's 
work, 
Thou'lt not believe thy deeds : but I'll report it, 
Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles ; 
5 Where great patricians shall attend, and shrug, 
I' the end admire ; where ladies shall be frighted, 
And, gladly quaked, hear more ; where the dull 
tribunes, 



Scene 9] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 41 

That, with the fusty plebeians, hate thine 

honours, IO 

Shall say against their hearts 'We thank the gods 
Our Rome hath such a soldier.' 
Yet earnest thou to a morsel of this feast, 
Having fully dined before. 

Enter Titus Lartius, with his power, from 
the pursuit. 

Lart. O general, 15 

Here is the steed, we the caparison : 
Hadst thou beheld — 

Mar. Pray now, no more ; my mother, 

Who has a charter to extol her blood, 
When she does praise me grieves me. I have done 20 
As you have done ; that's what I can : induced 
As you have been ; that's for my country : 
He that has but effected his good will 
Hath overta'en mine act.° 

Com. You shall not be 25 

The grave of your deserving ; Rome must know 
The value of her own : 'twere a concealment 
Worse than a theft, no less than a traducement, 
To hide your doings ; and to silence that, 



42 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

30 Which, to the spire and top of praises vouch'd, 
Would seem but modest : therefore, I beseech 

you — 
In sign of what you are, not to reward 
What you have done — before our army hear me. 
35 Mar. I have some wounds upon me, and they 
smart 
To hear themselves remember'd. 

Com. Should they not,° 

W T ell might they fester 'gainst ingratitude, 
40 And tent° themselves with death. Of all the horses, 
Whereof we have ta'en good, and good store, of all 
The treasure in this field achieved and city, 
We render you the tenth ; to be ta'en forth, 
Before the common distribution, at 
45 Your only choice. 

Mar. I thank you, general ; 

But cannot make my heart consent to take 
A bribe to pay my sword ; I do refuse it, 
And stand upon my common part with those 
50 That have beheld the doing. 

[A long flourish. They all cry 'Marcius! Marcius!' 
cast up their caps and lances : Cominius and 
Lartius stand bare. 



Scene 9.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 43 

Mar. May these same instruments, which you 

profane, 
Never sound more ! when drums and trumpets 

shall 
I' the field prove flatterers, let courts and cities be 55 
Made all of false-faced soothing ! 
When steel grows soft as the parasite's silk, 
Let him be made an overture for the wars ! 
No more, I say ! For that I have not wash'd 
My nose that bled, or foil'd some debile wretch, 60 
Which without note here's many else have done, 
You shout me forth 
In acclamations hyperbolical ; 
As if I loved my little should be dieted 
In praises sauced with lies. 65 

Com. Too modest are you ; 

More cruel to your good report than grateful 
To us that give you truly : by your patience, 
If 'gainst yourself you be incensed, we'll put you, 
Like one that means his proper harm, in manacles, 70 
Then reason safely with you. Therefore, be it 

known, 
As to us, to all the world, that Caius Marcius 
W T ears this war's garland : in token of the which, 



44 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

75 My noble steed, known to the camp, I give him, 
With all his trim belonging ; and from this time, 
For what he did before Corioli, call him, 
With all the applause and clamour of the host, 
Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Bear 
80 The addition nobly ever ! 

[Flourish. Trumpets sound, and drums. 
All. Caius Marcius Coriolanus ! 
Cor. I will go wash ; 
And when my face is fair, you shall perceive 
Whether I blush, or no : howbeit, I thank you : 
85 I mean to stride your steed ; and at all times 
To undercrest your good addition 
To the fairness of my power. 

Com. So, to our tent ; 

Where, ere we do repose us, we will write 
90 To Rome of our success. You, Titus Lartius, 
Must to Corioli back : send us to Rome 
The best, with whom we may articulate 
For their own good and ours. 

Lart. I shall, my lord. 

95 Cor. The gods begin to mock me. I, that now 
Refused most princely gifts, am bound to beg 
Of my lord general. 



Scene 10.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 45 

Com. Take't; 'tis yours. What is't? 

Cor. I sometime lay° here in Corioli 
At a poor man's house ; he used me kindly : ioo 

He cried to me ; I saw him prisoner ; 
But then Aufidius was within my view, 
And wrath o'erwhelm'd my pity : I request you 
To give my poor host freedom. 

Com. O, well begg'd ! 105 

Were he the butcher of my son, he should 
Be free as is the wind. Deliver him, Titus. 

Lart. Marcius, his name? 

Cor. By Jupiter, forgot : 

I am weary; yea, my memory is tired. no 

Have we no wine here ? 

Com. Go we to our tent : 

The blood upon your visage dries ; 'tis time 
It should be look'd to : come. [Exeunt. 

Scene X. 
The camp of the Volsces. 

A flourish. Cornets. Enter Tullus Aufidius, 
bloody, with hvo or three Soldiers. 

Auf. The town is ta'en ! 



46 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act I. 

First Sol. 'Twill be deliver'd back on good 
condition. 

Auj. Condition ! 
S I would I were a Roman ; for I cannot, 
Being a Volsce, be that I am.° Condition I 
What good condition can a treaty find 
V the part that is at mercy ? Five times, Marcius, 
I have fought with thee ; so often hast thou beat 
10 me; 

And wouldst do so, I think, should we encounter 
As often as we eat. By the elements, 
If e'er again I meet him beard to beard, 
He's mine, or I am his : mine emulation 
15 Hath not that honour in't it had ; for where 
I thought to crush him in an equal force, 
True sword to sword, I'll potch at him some way, 
Or wrath or craft may get him.° 

First Sol. He's the devil. 

20 Auj. Bolder, though not so subtle. My 
valour's poison'd 
With only suffering stain by him ; for him 
Shall fly out of itself : nor sleep nor sanctuary, 
Being naked, sick, nor fane nor Capitol, 
25 The prayers of priests nor times of sacrifice, 



Scene 10.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 47 

Embarquements all of fury, shall lift up 

Their rotten privilege and custom 'gainst 

My hate to Marcius : where I find him, were it 

At home, upon my brother's guard, even there, 

Against the hospitable canon, would I 30 

Wash my fierce hand in's heart. Go you to the 

city ; 
Learn how 'tis held, and what they are that must 
Be hostages for Rome. 

First Sol. Will not you go ? 35 

Auf. I am attended at the cypress grove : 
I pray you — 

"lis south the city mills — bring me word thither 
How the world goes, that to the pace of it 
I may spur on my journey. 40 

First Sol. I shall, sir. [Exeunt. 



ACT SECOND. — Scene I. 

Rome. A public place. 

Enter Menenius, with the two Tribunes of the 
people, Sicinius and Brutus. 

Men. The augur er tells me we shall have news 

to-night. 
Bru. Good or bad ? 

Men. Not according to the prayer of the 
5 people, for they love not Marcius. 

Sic. Nature teaches beasts to know their 

friends. 
Men. Pray you, who does the wolf love ? 
Sic. The lamb. 
10 Men. Ay, to devour him ; as the hungry 
plebeians would the noble Marcius. 

Bru. He's a lamb indeed, that baes like a bear. 
Men. He's a bear indeed, that lives like a 
lamb. 

48 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 49 

You two are old men : tell me one thing that x s 

I shall ask you. 

Both. Well, sir. 

Men. In what enormity is Marcius poor in, 
that you two have not in abundance ? 

Bra. He's poor in no one fault, but stored with 20 
all. 

Sic. Especially in pride. 

Bru. And topping all others in boasting. 

Men. This is strange now : do you two know 
how you are censured here in the city, I mean of 25 
us o' the right-hand file ? do you ? 

Both. Why, how are we censured ? 

Men. Because you talk of pride now, — will 
you not be angry ? 

Both. Well, well, sir, well. 30 

Men. Why, 'tis no great matter; for a very 
little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal 
of patience : give your dispositions the reins, and 
be angry at your pleasures ; at the least, if you 
take it as a pleasure to you in being so. You 35 
blame Marcius for being proud ? 

Bru. We do it not alone, sir. 

Men. I know you can do very little alone ; for 

E 



50 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

your helps are many, or else your actions would 

40 grow wondrous single : your abilities are too 
infantlike for doing much alone. You talk of 
pride : O that you could turn your eyes toward 
the napes of your necks, and make but an interior 
survey of your good selves ! O that you could ! 

45 Both. What then, sir? 

Men. Wiry, then you should discover a brace 
of unmeriting, proud, violent, testy magistrates, 
alias fools, as any in Rome. 

Sic. Menenius, you are known well enough too. 

5° Men. I am known to be a humorous patrician, 
and one that loves a cup of hot wine with not a 
drop of allaying Tiber, in't ; said to be something 
imperfect in favouring the first complaint, hasty 
and tinder-like upon too trivial motion ; one that 

55 converses more with the night than with the 
morning : what I think I utter, and spend my 
malice in my breath. Meeting two such weals- 
men as you are, — I cannot call you Lycurguses 
— if the drink you give me touch my palate 

60 adversely, I make a crooked face at it. I can't 
say your worships have delivered the matter well, 
when I find the ass in compound with the major 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 51 

part of your syllables : and though I must be 
content to bear with those that say you are 
reverend grave men, yet they lie deadly that tell 65 
you you have good faces. If you see this in the 
map of my microcosm, follows it that I am known 
well enough too ? what harm can you bisson con- 
spectuities glean out of this character, if I be 
known well enough too ? 7° 

Bru. Come, sir, come, we know you well 
enough. 

Men. You know neither me, yourselves, nor 
any thing. You are ambitious for poor knaves' 
caps and legs : you wear out a good wholesome 7s 
forenoon in hearing a cause between an orange- 
wife and a fosset-seller, and then rejourn the 
controversy of three-pence to a second day of 
audience. When you are hearing a matter be- 
tween party and party, if you chance to be pinched 8o 
with the colic, you make faces like mummers ; 
set up the bloody flag against all patience ; and 
dismiss the controversy bleeding, the more entan- 
gled by your hearing : all the peace you make 
in their cause is, calling both the parties knaves. 85 
You are a pair of strange ones. 



52 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Bru. Come, come, you are well understood to 
be a perfecter giber for the table than a necessary 
bencher in the Capitol. 

90 Men. Our very priests must become mockers, 
if they shall encounter such ridiculous subjects 
as you are. When you speak best unto the pur- 
pose, it is not worth the wagging of your beards ; 
and your beards deserve not so honourable a 

95 grave as to stuff a botcher's cushion, or to be 
entombed in an ass's pack-saddle. ° Yet you 
must be saying, Marcius is proud ; who, in a cheap 
estimation, is worth all your predecessors since 
Deucalion ; though peradventure some of the 
100 best of 'em were hereditary hangmen. God-den° 
to your worships : more of your conversation 
would infect my brain, being the herdsmen of the 
beastly plebeians : I will be bold to take my leave 

of you. 

[Brutus and Sicinius go aside. 

Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, a?rd Valeria. 

105 How now, my as fair as noble ladies, — and the 
moon, were she earthly, no nobler — whither do 
you follow your eyes so fast? 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 53 

Vol. Honourable Menenius, my boy Marcius 
approaches ; for the love of Juno, let's go. 

Men. Ha! Marcius coming home? no 

Vol. Ay, worthy Menenius ; and with most 
prosperous approbation. 

Men. Take my cap, Jupiter, and I thank thee: 
Hoo ! Marcius coming home ? 

Vif ' I XT , • 

v , ) Nay, tis true. us 

Vol. I^ook, here's a letter from him : the 
state hath another, his wife another; and, I 
think, there's one at home for you. 

Men. I will make my very house reel to-night : 
a letter for me? 120 

Vir. Yes, certain, there's a letter for you; I 
saw't. 

Men. A letter for me ! it gives me an estate of 
seven years' health; in which time I will make 
a lip at the physician: the most sovereign pre- 125 
scription in Galen is but empiricutic, and, to 
this preservative, of no better report than a 
horse-drench. Is he not wounded? he was 
wont to come home wounded. 

Vir. O, no, no, no. I 3° 



54 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Vol. O, he is wounded ; I thank the gods for't. 

Men. So do I too, if it be not too much : bring 
a' victory in his pocket? the wounds become 
him 
135 Vol. On's brows : Menenius, he comes the 
third time home with the oaken garland. 

Men. Has he disciplined Aufidius soundly? 

Vol. Titus Lartius writes, they fought to- 
gether, but Aufidius got off. 
140 Men. And 'twas time for him too, I'll warrant 
him that : an he had stayed by him, I would not 
have been so fidiused for all the chests in Corioli, 
and the gold that's in them. Is the senate 
possessed of° this? 
145 Vol. Good ladies, let's go. Yes, yes, yes ; the 
senate has letters from the general, wherein he 
gives my son the whole name of the war; he 
hath in this action outdone his former deeds 
doubly. 
150 Vol. In troth, there's wondrous things spoke 
of him. 

Men. Wondrous ! a,y, I warrant you, and not 
without his true purchasing. 

Vir. The gods grant them true ! 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 55 

Vol. True ! pow, wow.° 155 

Men. True ! I'll be sworn they are true. 
Where is he wounded? [To the Tribunes] God 
save your good worships ! Marcius is coming 
home : he has more cause to be proud. Where 
is he wounded ? 160 

Vol. I' the shoulder and i' the left arm : there 
will be large cicatrices to show the people, when 
he shall stand for his place. He received in the 
repulse of Tarquin seven hurts i' the body. 

Men. One i' the neck, and two i' the thigh ; 16s 
there's nine that I know. 

Vol. He had, before this last expedition, 
twenty-five wounds upon him. 

Men. Now it's twenty-seven : every gash was 
an enemy's grave. [A shout and flourish.] Hark ! 170 
the trumpets. 

Vol. These are the ushers of Marcius : before 
him he carries noise, and behind him he leaves 
tears : 

Death, that dark spirit, in's nervy arm doth 175 
lie ; 

Wlrich, being advanced, declines, and then men 
die.° 



56 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

A sennet. Trumpets sound. Enter Cominius 
and Titus Lartius ; between them, Coriolanus, 
crowned with an oaken garland; with Captains 
and Soldiers, and a Herald. 

Her. Know, Rome, that all alone Marcius did 
1 80 fight 

Within Corioli gates : where he hath won, 
With a fame, a name to Cams Marcius ; these 
In honour follows Coriolanus. 
Welcome to Rome, renowned Coriolanus ! 

[Flourish. 
185 All. Welcome to Rome, renowned Coriolanus ! 
Cor. No more of this, it does offend my heart ; 
Pray now, no more. 

Com. Look, sir, your mother ! 

Cor. O, 

190 You have, I know, petition'd all the gods 

For my prosperity ! [Kneels. 

Vol, Nay, my good soldier, up ; 

My gentle Marcius, worthy Caius, and 
By deed-achieving honour newly named, — 
195 What is it ? — Coriolanus must I call thee ? — 
But, O, thy wife ! 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 57 

Cor. My gracious silence, hail ! 

Wouldst thou laugh'd had I come coffin'd home, 
Thou weep'st to see me triumph ? Ah, my dear, 
Such eyes the widows in Corioli wear, 200 

And mothers that lack sons. 

Men. Now, the gods crown thee ! 

Cor. And live you yet? [To Valeria] O my 
sweet lady, pardon. 

Vol. I know not where to turn : O, welcome 205 
home : 
And welcome, general : and ye're welcome all. 
Men. A hundred thousand welcomes. I 
could weep, 
And I could laugh ; I am light and heavy. Wei- 210 

come : 
A curse begin at very root on's heart, 
That is not glad to see thee ! You are three 
That Rome should dote on : yet, by the faith of 

men, 215 

We have some old crab-trees° here at home that 

will not 
Be grafted to your relish. Yet welcome, warriors : 
We call a nettle but a nettle, and 
The faults of fools but folly. 220 



58 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Com. Ever right. 

Cor. Menenius, ever, ever. 
Her. Give way there, and go on. 
Cor. [To Volumnia and Virgilia] Your hand, 
225 and yours : 

Ere in your own house I do shade my head, 
The good patricians must be visited ; 
From whom I have received not only greetings, 
But with them change of honours. 
230 Vol. I have lived 

To see inherited my very wishes 
And the buildings of my fancy : only 
There's one thing wanting, which I doubt not but 
Our Rome will cast upon thee. 
235 Cor. Know, good mother, 

I had rather be their servant in my way 
Than sway° with them in theirs. 

Com. On, to the Capitol ! 

[Flourish. Cornets. Exeunt in state, as before. 

Brutus and Sicinius come forward. 
Bru. All tongues speak of him, and the bleared 
240 sights 

Are spectacled to see him : your prattling nurse 
Into a rapture lets her baby cry 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 59 

While she chats him : the kitchen malkin pins 
Her richest lockram 'bout her reechy neck, 
Clambering the walls to eye him : stalls, bulks, 245 

windows, 
Are smother'd up, leads fill'd and ridges horsed 
With variable complexions, all agreeing 
In earnestness to see him : seld-shown flamens 
Do press among the popular throngs, and puff 250 
To win a vulgar station : our veil'd dames 
Commit the war of white and damask in 
Their nicely -gawded cheeks to the wanton spoil 
Of Phoebus' burning kisses : such a pother, 
As if that whatsoever god who leads him 255 

Were slily crept into his human powers, 
And gave him graceful posture. 

Sic. On the sudden, 

I warrant him consul. 

Bru. Then our office may, 260 

During his power, go sleep. 

Sic. He cannot temperately transport his 
honours 
From where he should begin and end, but will 
Lose those he hath won. 265 

Bru. In that there's comfort. 



60 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Sic. Doubt not 

The commoners, for whom we stand, but they 
Upon their ancient malice will forget 
270 With the least cause these his new honours ; which 
That he will give them make I as little question 
As he is proud to do't. 

Bru. I heard him swear, 

Were he to stand for consul, never would he 
275 Appear i' the market-place, nor on him put 
The napless vesture of humility, 
Nor showing, as the manner is, his wounds 
To the people, beg their stinking breaths. 

Sic. 'Tis right. 

280 Bru. It was his word : O, he would miss it 
rather 
Than carry it but by the suit of the gentry to him, 
And the desire of the nobles. 

Sic. I wish no better 

285 Than have him hold that purpose and to put it 
In execution. 

Bru. 'Tis most like he will. 

Sic. It shall be to him then, as our good wills, 
A sure destruction. 
290 Bru. So it must fall out 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 61 

To him or our authorities. For an end,° 

We must suggest the people in what hatred 

He still hath held them ; that to's power he 

would 
Have made them mules, silenced their pleaders and 2 95 
Dispropertied their freedoms ; holding them, 
In human action and capacity, 
Of no more soul nor fitness for the world 
Than camels in the war, who have their provand 
Only for bearing burthens, and sore blows 300 

For sinking under them. 

Sic. This, as you say, suggested 

At some time when his soaring insolence 
Shall touch the people — which time shall not 

want, 305 

If he be put upon't ; and that's as easy 
As to set dogs on sheep — will be his fire 
To kindle their dry stubble ; and their blaze 
Shall darken him for ever. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Bru. What's the matter? 310 

Mess. You are sent for to the Capitol. 'Tis 
thought 



62 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

That Marcius shall be consul : 

I have seen the dumb men throng to see him and 
315 The blind to hear him speak: matrons flung 
gloves, 

Ladies and maids their scarfs and handkerchers, 

Upon him as he pass'd : the nobles bended, 

As to Jove's statue, and the commons made 
520 A shower and thunder with their caps and shouts : 

I never saw the like. 

Bru. Let's to the Capitol, 

And carry with us ears and eyes for the time, 

But hearts for the event. 
325 Sic. Have with you.° [Exeunt. 



Scene II. 

The same. The Capitol. 
Enter two Officers, to lay cushions. 

First Off. Come, come, they are almost here. 
How many stand for consulships ? 

Sec. Off. Three, they say : but 'tis thought of 
every one Coriolanus will carry it. 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 63 

First Off. That's a brave fellow ; but he's 5 
vengeance proud, and loves not the common 
people. 

Sec. Off. Faith, there have been many great 
men that have flattered the people, who ne'er 
loved them ; and there be many that they have 10 
loved, they know not wherefore : so that, if they 
love they know not why, they hate upon no 
better a ground : therefore, for Coriolanus neither 
to care whether they love or hate him manifests 
the true knowledge he has in° their disposition ; 15 
and out of his noble carelessness lets them plainly 
see't. 

First Off. If he did not care whether he had 
their love or no, he waved indifferently 'twixt 
doing them neither good nor harm : but he seeks 20 
their hate with greater devotion than they can 
render it him, and leaves nothing undone that 
may fully discover him their opposite. Now, 
to seem to affect the malice and displeasure of 
the people is as bad as that which he dislikes, 25 
to flatter them for their love. 

Sec. Off. He hath deserved worthily of his 
country : and his ascent is not by such easy 



64 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

degrees as those who, having been supple and 
30 courteous to the people, bonneted, without any 
further deed to have them at all into their estima- 
tion and report : but he hath so planted his 
honours in their eyes and his actions in their 
hearts, that for their tongues to be silent and not 
35 confess so much, were a kind of ingrateful injury ; 
to report otherwise were a malice that, giving 
itself the lie, would pluck reproof and rebuke 
from every ear that heard it. 

First Off. No more of him ; he's a worthy 
40 man : make way, they are coming. 

A sennet. Enter, with Lictors before them, 
Cominius the Consul, Menenius, Coriolanus, 
Senators, Sicinius and Brutus. The Sen- 
ators take their places ; the Tribunes take their 
places by themselves. Coriolanus stands. 

Men. Having determined of the Volsces and 
To send for Titus Lartius, it remains, 
As the main point of this our after-meeting, 
To gratify his noble service that 
45 Hath thus stood for his country : therefore, 
please you, 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 65 

Most reverend and grave elders, to desire 

The present consul, and last general 

In our well-found successes, to report 

A little of that worthy work perform' d so 

By Caius Marcius Coriolanus ; whom 

We met here, both to thank and to remember 

With honours like himself. 

First Sen. Speak, good Cominius : 

Leave nothing out for length, and make us think 55 
Rather our state's defective for requital 
Than we to stretch it out.° [To the Tribunes] 

Masters o' the people, 
We do request your kindest ears, and after, 
Your loving motion toward the common body, 6o 
To yield what passes here. 

Sic. We are convented 

Upon a pleasing treaty, and have hearts 
Inclinable to honour and advance 
The theme of our assembly. 65 

Bru. Which the rather 

We shall be bless'd to do, if he remember 
A kinder value of the people than 
He hath hereto prized them at. 

Men. That's off, that's off° ; 70 

F 



66 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

I would you rather had been silent. Please you 
To hear Cominius speak ? 

Bru. Most willingly : 

But yet my caution was more pertinent 
75 Than the rebuke you give it. 

Men. He loves your people ; 

But tie him not to be their bedfellow. 
Worthy Cominius, speak. [Coriolanus offers to go 
away.] Nay, keep your place. 
80 First Sen. Sit, Coriolanus ; never shame to 
hear 
What you have nobly done. 

Cor. Your honours' pardon : 

I had rather have my wounds to heal again, 
85 Than hear say how I got them. 

Bru. Sir, I hope 

My words disbench'd you not. 

Cor. No, sir : yet oft, 

When blows have made me stay, I fled from 
90 words. 

You sooth'd not, therefore hurt not : but your 

people, 
I love them as they weigh. 

Men. Pray now, sit down. 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 67 

Cor. I had rather have one scratch my head 95 
i' the sun 
When the alarum were struck than idly sit 
To hear my nothings monster'd. [Exit. 

Men. Masters of the people, 

Your multiplying spawn how can he natter — ioo 
That's thousand to one° good one— when you 

now see 
He had rather venture all his limbs for honour 
Than one on's ears to hear it? Proceed, Co- 
minius. Io5 

Com. I shall lack voice : the deeds of Coriola- 
nus 
Should not be utter'd feebly. It is held 
That valour is the chiefest virtue and 
Most dignifies the haver : if it be, no 

The man I speak of cannot in the world 
Be singly counterpoised. At sixteen years, 
When Tarquin made a head for Rome, he fought 
Beyond the mark of others : our then dictator, 
Whom with all praise I point at, saw him fight, us 
When with his Amazonian chin° he drove 
The bristled lips before him : he bestrid 
An o'er-press'd Roman, and i' the consul's view 



68 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Slew three opposers : Tarquin's self he met, 

1 20 And struck him on his knee° : in that day's feats, 
When he might act the woman in the scene, 
He proved best man i' the field, and for his meed 
Was brow-bound with the oak. His pupil age 
Man-enter'd thus, he waxed like a sea ; 

125 And, in the brunt of seventeen battles since, 
He lurch'd all swords of the garland. For this 

last, 
Before and in Corioli, let me say, 
I cannot speak him home : he stopp'd the fliers ; 

130 And by his rare example made the coward 
Turn terror into sport : as weeds before 
A vessel under sail, so men obey'd, 
And fell below his stem ; his sword, death's stamp, 
Where it did mark, it took ; from face to foot 

135 He was a thing of blood, whose every motion 
Was timed with dying cries : alone he enter'd 
The mortal gate of the city, which he painted 
With shunless destiny ; aidless came off, 
And with a sudden re-enforcement struck 

140 Corioli like a planet : now all's his : 

When, by and by, the din of war gan pierce 
His ready sense ; then straight his doubled spirit 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 69 

Re-quicken'd what in flesh was fatigate, 

And to the battle came he ; where he did 

Run reeking o'er the lives of men, as if T 45 

'Twere a perpetual spoil : and till we call'd 

Both field and city ours, he never stood 

To ease his breast with panting. 

Men. Worthy man ! 

First Sen. He cannot but with measure fit the 150 
honours 
Which we devise him. 

Com. Our spoils he kick'd at, 

And look'd upon things precious, as they were 
The common muck of the world : he covets less 15s 
Than misery itself would give ; rewards 
His deeds with doing them, and is content 
To spend the time to end it.° 

Men. He's right noble : 

Let him be call'd for. 160 

First Sen. Call Coriolanus. 

Off. He doth appear. 

Re-enter Coriolanus. 

Men. The senate, Coriolanus, are well pleased 
To make thee consul. 



70 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

165 Cor. I do owe them still 

My life and services. 

Men. It then remains 

That you do speak to the people. 

Cor. I do beseech you, 

170 Let me o'erleap that custom, for I cannot 

Put on the gown, stand naked, and entreat them, 
For my wounds' sake, to give their suffrage : 

please you 
That I may pass this doing. 
175 Sic. Sir, the people 

Must have their voices ; neither will they bate 
One jot of ceremony. 

Men. Put them not to't : 

Pray you, go fit you to the custom, and 
182 Take to you, as your predecessors have, 
Your honour with your form. 

Cor. It is a part 

That I shall blush in acting, and might well 
Be taken from the people. 
185 Bru. Mark you that? 

Cor. To brag unto them, thus I did, and thus : 
Show them the unaching scars which I should hide, 
As if I had received them for the hire 
Of their breath only ! 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 71 

Men. Do not stand upon't. 195 

We recommend to you,° tribunes of the people, 
Our purpose to them : and to our noble consul 
Wish we all joy and honour. 

Senators. To Coriolanus come all joy and 
honour!- Igs 

[Flourish of cornets. Exeunt all but Sicinius 
and Brutus. 
Bru. You see how he intends to use the people. 
Sic. May they perceive's intent! He will 
require them, 
As if he did contemn what he requested 
Should be in them to give. 2 ° c 

Bru. Come, we'll inform them 

Of our proceedings here : on the market-place, 
I know, they do attend us. [Exeunt. 

Scene III. 
The same. The Forum. 
Enter seven or eight Citizens. 
First Cit. Once,° if he do require our voices, 
we ought not to deny him. 



72 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Sec. Cit. We may, sir, if we will. 

Third Cit. We have power in ourselves to do 

5 it, but it is a power that we have no power to do : 
for if he show us his wounds and tell us his deeds, 
we are to put our tongues into those wounds and 
speak for them ; so, if he tell us his noble deeds, 
we must also tell him our noble acceptance of 

10 them. Ingratitude is monstrous : and for the 
multitude to be ingrateful, were to make a mon- 
ster of the multitude ; of the which we being 
members, should bring ourselves to be monstrous 
members. 

15 First Cit. And to make us no better thought 
of, a little help will serve ; for once° we stood up 
about the corn, he himself stuck not to call us 
the many-headed multitude. 

Third Cit. We have been called so of many ; not 

20 that our heads are some brown, some black, some 
auburn, some bald, but that our wits are so 
diversely coloured : and truly I think, if all our 
wits were to issue out of one skull, they would 
fly east, west, north, south, and their consent 

25 of° one direct way should be at once to all the 
points o' the compass. 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 73 

Sec. Cit. Think you so? Which way do you 
judge my wit would fly? 

Third Cit. Nay, your wit will not so soon out 
as another man's will ; 'tis strongly wedged up in 30 
a blockhead ; but if it were at liberty, 'twould, 
sure, southward. 

Sec. Cit: Why that way? 

Third Cit. To lose itself in a fog ; where being 
three parts melted away with rotten dews, the 35 
fourth would return for conscience sake, to help 
to get thee a wife. 

Sec. Cit. You are never without your tricks : 
you may, you may.° 

Third Cit. Are you all resolved to give your 40 
voices? But that's no matter, the greater part 
carries it. I say, if he would incline to the people, 
there was never a worthier man. 

Enter Coriolanus in a gown of humility, with 

Menenius. 

Here he comes, and in the gown of humility : 
mark his behaviour. We are not to stay all 45 
together, but to come by him where he stands, 
by ones, by twos, and by threes. He's to make 



74 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

his requests by particulars ; wherein every 
one of us has a single honour, in giving him our 
50 own voices with our own tongues : therefore follow 
me, and I'll direct you how you shall go by him. 
All. Content, content. [Exeunt Citizens. 

Men. O sir, you are not right : have you not 
known 
55 The worthiest men have done't ? 

Cor. What must I say ? — 

'I pray, sir,' — Plague upon't ! I cannot bring 
My tongue to such a pace. 'Look, sir, my 
wounds ! 
60 I got them in my country's service, when 
Some certain of your brethren roar'd, and ran 
From the noise of our own drums.' 

Men. O me, the gods ! 

You must not speak of that : you must desire them 
65 To think upon you. 

Cor. Think upon me ! hang 'em ! 

I would they would forget me, like the virtues 
Which our divines lose by 'em.° 

Men. You'll mar all : 

70 I'll leave you : pray you, speak to 'em, I pray you, 
In wholesome manner. [Exit. 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 75 

Cor. Bid them wash their faces, 

And keep their teeth clean. [Re-enter two of the 
Citizens.] So, here comes a brace. 

Re-enter a third Citizen. 

You know the cause, sir, of my standing here. 75 

Third Cit. We do, sir; tell us what hath 
brought you to't. 

Cor. Mine own desert. 

Sec. Cit. Your own desert ! 

Cor. Ay, but not mine own desire. 80 

Third Cit. How ! not your own desire ! 

Cor. No, sir, 'twas never my desire yet to 
trouble the poor with begging. 

Third Cit. You must think, if we give you 
any thing, we hope to gain by you. 85 

Cor. Well then, I pray, your price o' the 
consulship ? 

First Cit. The price is, to ask it kindly. 

Cor. Kindly! Sir, I pray, let me ha't : I 
have wounds to show you, which shall be yours 90 
in private. Your good voice, sir; what say 
you? 

Sec. Cit. You shall ha't, worthy sir. 



76 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Cor. A match, sir. There's in all two worthy 
95 voices begged. I have your alms : adieu. 
Third Cit. But this is something odd. 
Sec. Cit. An 'twere to give again, — but 'tis 
no matter. [Exeunt the three Citizens. 

Re-enter two other Citizens. 

Cor. Pray you now, if it may stand with the 
ioo tune of your voices that I may be consul, I have 
here the customary gown. 

Fourth Cit. You have deserved nobly of your 
country, and you have not desired nobly. 
Cor. Your enigma ? 
105 Fourth Cit. You have been a scourge to her 
enemies, you have been a rod to her friends ; you 
have not indeed loved the common people. 

Cor. You should account me the more virtu- 
ous, that I have not been common in my love. 
no I will, sir, flatter my sworn brother, the people, 
to earn a dearer estimation of them ; 'tis a con- 
dition they account gentle : and since the wis- 
dom of their choice is rather to have my hat 
than my heart, I will practise the insinuating 
us nod, and be off to them most counterfeitly ; that 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 77 

is, sir, I will counterfeit the bewitchment of 
some popular man, and give it bountiful to 
the. desirers. Therefore, beseech you, I may be 

consul. 

Fifth Cit. We hope to find you our friend ; and 120 
therefore give you our voices heartily. 

Fourth Cit. You have received many wounds 
for your country. 

Cor. I will not seal your knowledge with 
showing them. I will make much of your voices, 125 
and so trouble you no farther. 

Both Cit. The gods give you joy, sir, heartily ! 

[Exeunt. 

Cor. Most sweet voices ! 
Better it is to die, better to starve, 
Than crave the hire which first we do deserve. 130 
Why in this woolvish toge° should I stand here ; 
To beg of Hob and Dick that do appear, 
Their needless vouches ? Custom calls me to't : 
What custom wills, in all things should we do't, 
The dust on antique time would lie unswept, 135 

And mountainous error be too highly heap'd 
For truth to o'er-peer. Rather than fool it so, 
Let the high office and the honour go 



78 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

To one that would do thus. I am half through : 
140 The one part suffer' d, the other will I do. 

Re-enter three Citizens more. 

Here come moe° voices. 
Your voices : for your voices I have fought ; 
Watch'd for your voices ; for your voices bear 
Of wounds two dozen odd ; battles thrice six 
145 I have seen, and heard of ; for your voices have 
Done many things, some less, some more : your 

voices : 
Indeed, I would be consul. 

Sixth Cit. He has done nobly, and cannot go 
150 without any honest man's voice. 

Seventh Cit. Therefore let him be consul : the 
gods give him joy, and make him good friend to 
the people ! 

All. Amen, amen. God save thee, noble 
1 55 consul ! [Exeunt. 

Cor. Worthy voices ! 

Re-enter Menenius, with Brutus and Sicinius. 

Men. You have stood your limitation ; and 
the tribunes 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 79 

Endue you with the people's voice : remains 

That in the official marks invested you 160 

Anon do meet the senate. 

Cor. Is this done ? 

Sic. The custom of request you have dis- 
charged : 
The people do admit you, and are summon'd 165 
To meet anon upon your approbation. 

Cor. Where ? at the senate-house ? 

Sic. There, Coriolanus. 

Cor. May I change these garments ? 

Sic. You may, sir. 170 

Cor. That I'll straight do, and, knowing my- 
self again, 
Repair to the senate-house. 

Men. I'll keep you company. Will you 
along? I75 

Bru. We stay here for the people. 

Sic. Fare you well. 

[Exeunt Coriolanus and Menenius. 
He has it now ; and, by his looks , methinks 
'Tis warm at's heart. 

Bru. With a proud heart he wore 180 

His humble weeds. Will you dismiss the people ? 



80 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Re-enter Citizens 
Sic. How now, my masters ! have you chose 
this man? 

First Cit. He has our voices, sir. 
I 8s Bru. We pray the gods he may deserve your 
loves. 

Sec. Cit. Amen, sir : to my poor unworthy 
notice, 
He mock'd us when he begg'd our voices. 
190 Third Cit. Certainly 

He flouted us downright. 

First Cit. No, 'tis his kind of speech ; he did 

not mock us. 
Sec. Cit. Not one amongst us, save yourself, 
195 but says 

He used us scornfully : he should have show'd us 
His marks of merit, wounds received for's country. 
Sic. Why, so he did, I am sure. 
Citizens. No, no ; no man saw 'em. 
200 Third Cit. He said he had wounds which he 
could show in private ; 
And with his hat, thus waving it in scorn, 
'I would be consul,' says he : 'aged custom, 
But by your voices, will not so permit me ; 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 81 

Your voices therefore.' When we granted that, 205 
Here was ' I thank you for your voices : thank you : 
Your most sweet voices : now you have left your 

voices, 
I have no further with you.' Was not this 
mockery? 2I ° 

Sic. Why, either were you ignorant to see't, 
Or, seeing it, of such childish friendliness 
To yield your voices ? 

Bru. Could you not have told him, 

As you were lesson' d, when he had no power, 215 
But was a petty servant to the state, 
He was your enemy ; ever spake against 
Your liberties and the charters that you bear 
I' the body of the weal° : and now, arriving 
A place of potency and sway o' the state, 220 

If he should still malignantly remain 
Fast foe to the plebeii, your voices might 
Be curses to yourselves ? You should have said, 
That as his worthy deeds did claim no less 
Than what he stood for, so his gracious nature 225 
Would think upon you for your voices, and 
Translate his malice towards you into love, 
Standing your friendly lord. 



82 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Sic. Thus to have said, 

230 As you were fore-advised, had touch'd his spirit 
And tried his inclination ; from him pluck'd 
Either his gracious promise, which you might, 
As cause had call'd you up, have held him to ; 
Or else it would have gall'd his surly nature, 
235 Which easily endures not article 

Tying him to aught : so, putting him to rage, 
You should have ta'en the advantage of his choler, 
And pass'd him unelected. 

Bra. Did you perceive 

240 He did solicit you in free contempt 

When he did need your loves ; and do you think 
That his contempt shall not be bruising to you 
When he hath power to crush? Why, had your 
bodies 
245 No heart among you ? or had you tongues to cry 
Against the rectorship of judgment ? 

Sic. Have you, 

Ere now, denied the asker ? and now again, 
Of him that did not ask but mock, bestow 
250 Your sued-for tongues ? 

Third Cit. He's not confirm'd ; we may deny 
him yet.° 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 83 

Sec. Cit. And will deny him : 
I'll have five hundred voices of that sound. 

First Cit. I twice five hundred, and their 255 
friends to piece 'em. 

Bru. Get you hence instantly, and tell those 
friends, 
They have chose a consul that will from them take 
Their liberties, make them of no more voice 260 

Than dogs that are as often beat for barking, 
As therefore kept to do so. 

Sic. Let them assemble ; 

And, on a safer judgment, all revoke 
Your ignorant election : enforce his pride 265 

And his old hate unto you : besides, forget not 
With what contempt he wore the humble weed, 
How in his suit he scorn'd you : but your loves, 
Thinking upon his services, took from you 
The apprehension of his present portance, 270 

Which most gibingly, ungravely, he did fashion 
After the inveterate hate he bears you. 

Bru. Lay 

A fault on us, your tribunes ; that we labour'd, 
No impediment between, but that you must 275 

Cast your election on him. 



84 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act II. 

Sic. Say, you chose him 

More after our commandment than as guided 
By your own true affections ; and that your 

280 minds, 

Pre-occupied with what you rather must do 
Than what you should, made you against the grain 
To voice him consul : lay the fault on us. 

Bru. Ay, spare us not. Say we read lectures 

285 to you, 

How youngly he began to serve his country, 
How long continued ; and what stock he springs 

of, 
The noble house o' the Marcians, from whence 

290 came 

That Ancus Marcius, Numa's daughter's son, 
Who, after great Hostilius, here was king ; 
Of the same house Publius and Quintus were, 
That our best water brought by conduits hither ; 

295 And [Censorinus] nobly named so, 

Twice being [by the people chosen] censor, 
Was his great ancestor. 

Sic. One thus descended, 

That hath beside well in his person wrought 

300 To be set high in place, we did commend 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 85 

» 

To your remembrances : but you have found, 
Scaling his present bearing with his past, 
That he's your fixed enemy, and revoke 
Your sudden approbation. 

Bru. Say, you ne'er had done't — 305 

Harp on that still — but by our putting on° : 
And presently, when you have drawn your 

number, 
Repair to the Capitol. 

Citizens. We will so : almost all 310 

Repent in their election. [Exeunt Citizens. 

Bru. Let them go on ; 

This mutiny were better put in hazard, 
Than stay, past doubt, for greater : 
If, as his nature is, he fall in rage 31s 

With their refusal, both observe and answer 
The vantage of his anger. 

Sic. To the Capitol, come : 

We will be there before the stream o' the people ; 
And this shall seem, as partly 'tis, their own, 320 
Which we have goaded onward. [Exeunt. 



ACT THIRD. — Scene I. 

Rome. A street. 

Cornets. Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, all the 
Gentry, Cominius, Titus Lartius, and other 
Senators. 

Cor. Tullus Aufidius then had made new 

head ? 
Lart. He had, my lord ; and that it was which 
caused 
5 Our swifter composition. 

Cor. So then the Volsces stand but as at 
first; 
Ready, when time shall prompt them, to make 
road 
10 Upon's again. 

Com. They are worn, lord consul, so, 

That we shall hardly in our ages see 
Their banners wave again. 

86 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 87 

Cor. Saw you Aufidius ? 

Lart. On safe-guard lie came to me ; and did 15 
curse 
Against the Volsces, for they had so vilely 
Yielded the town : he is retired to Antium. 

Cor. Spoke he of me ? 

Lart He did, my lord. 2Q 

Cor. How? what? 

Lart. How often he had met you, sword to 
sword ; 
That of all things upon the earth he hated 
Your person most ; that he would pawn his 25 

fortunes 
To hopeless restitution, so he might 
Be call'd your vanquisher. 

Cor. At Antium lives he ? 

Lart. At Antium. 30 

Cor. I wish I had cause to seek him there, 
To oppose his hatred fully. Welcome home. 

Enter Sicini us and Brutus. 

Behold these are the tribunes of the people, 
The tongues o' the common mouth : ( I do despise 
them; 3S 



88 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

For they do prank them in authority, 
Against all noble sufferance. 

Sic. Pass no further. 

Cor. Ha ! what is that ? 
40 Bru. It will be dangerous to go on : no further. 
Cor. What makes this change ? 
Men. The matter ? 

Com. Hath he not pass'd the noble and the 
common? 
45 Bru. Cominius, no. 

Cor. Have I had children's voices ? 

First Sen. Tribunes, give way ; he shall to 

the market-place. 
Bru. The people are incensed against him. 
50 Sic. Stop, 

Or all will fall in broil. 

Cor. Are these your herd ? 

Must these have voices, that can yield them now,° 
And straight disclaim their tongues ? What are 
55 your offices ? 

You being their mouths, why rule you not their 

teeth? 
Have you not set them on ? 

Men. Be calm, be calm. 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 89 

Cor. It is a purposed thing, and grows by plot, 60 
To curb the will of the nobility : 
Suffer' t, and live with such as cannot rule, 
Nor ever will be ruled. 

Bru. Call't not a plot : 

The people cry you mock'd them ; and of late, 65 
When corn was given them gratis, you repined, 
Scandal'd the suppliants for the people, call'd them 
Time-pleasers, flatterers, foes to nobleness. 

Cor. Why, this was known before. 

Bru. Not to them all. 70 

Cor. Have you inform'd them sithence ? 

Bru. How ! I inform them ! 

Com. You are like to do such business. 

Bru. Not unlike, 

Each way, to better yours. 75 

Cor. Why then should I be consul? By 
yond clouds, 
Let me deserve so ill as you, and make me 
Your fellow tribune. 

Sic. You show too much of that 80 

For which the people stir : if you will pass 
To where you are bound, you must inquire your 
way, 



90 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Which you are out of, with a gentler spirit ; 
8s Or never be so noble as a consul, 
Nor yoke with him° for tribune. 

Men. Let's be calm. 

Com. The people are abused ; set on. This 
paltering 
90 Becomes not Rome ; nor has Coriolanus 
Deserved this so dishonour'd rub,° laid falsely 
I' the plain way of his merit. 

Cor. Tell me of corn ! 

This was my speech, and I will speak' t again — 
95 Men. Not now, not now. 

First Sen. Not in this heat, sir, now. 

Cor. Now, as I live, I will. My nobler friends, 
I crave their pardons : 

For the mutable, rank-scented many, let them 
100 Regard me as I do not natter, and 

Therein behold themselves : I say again, 
In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our senate 
The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition, 
Which we ourselves have plough'd for, sow'd 
105 and scatter'd, 

By mingling them with us, the honour'd number ; 
Who lack not virtue, no, nor power, but that 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 91 

Which they have given to beggars. 

Men. - Well, no more. 

First Sen. No more words, we beseech you. no 

Cor. How ! no more ! 

As for my country I have shed my blood. 
Not fearing outward force, so shall my lungs 
Coin words till their decay against those measles, 
Which we disdain should tetter us, yet sought 115 
The very way to catch them. 

Bru. You speak o' the people, 

As if you were a god to punish, not 
A man of their infirmity. 

Sic. 'Twere well 120 

We let the people know't. 

Men. W 7 hat, what? his choler? 

Cor. Choler ! 
Were I as patient as the midnight sleep, 
By Jove, 'twould be my mind ! 125 

Sic. It is a mind 

That shall remain a poison where it is, 
Not poison any further. 

Cor. Shall remain? 

Hear you this Triton of the minnows ? mark you 130 
His absolute ' shall ' ? 



92 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Com. ' Twas from the canon. 

Cor. 'Shall'! 

O good, but most unwise patricians ! why, 
i3S You grave but reckless senators, have you thus 
Given Hydra here to choose an officer, 
That with his peremptory 'shall,' begin but 
The horn and noise o' the monster's, wants not 
spirit 
i 4 o To say he'll turn your current in a ditch, 

And make your channel his ? If he have power, 
Then vail° your ignorance ; if none, awake 
Your dangerous lenity. If you are learn'd, 
Be not as common fools ; if you are not, 
145 Let them have cushions by you.° You are 
plebeians, 
If they be senators : and they are no less, 
When, both your voices blended, the great'st 
taste 
150 Most palates theirs. They choose their magis- 
trate ; 
And such a one as he, who puts his 'shall,' 
His popular 'shall,' against a graver bench 
Than ever frown'd in Greece. By Jove himself, 
155 It makes the consuls base ! and my soul aches 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 93 

To know, when two authorities are up, 
Neither supreme, how soon confusion 
May enter ' twixt the gap of both and take 
The one by the other. 

Com. Well, on to the market-place. 160 

Cor. Whoever gave that counsel, to give forth 
The corn o' the storehouse gratis, as ' twas used 
Sometime in Greece, — 

Men. Well, well, no more of that. 

Cor. Though there the people had more 165 
absolute power, 
I say, they nourish'd disobedience, fed 
The ruin of the state. 

Bru. Why, shall the people give 

One that speaks thus their voice? 170 

Cor. I'll give my reasons, 

More worthier than their voices. They know the 

corn 
Was not our recompense, resting well assured 
They ne'er did service for't : being press'd to the 175 

war, 
Even when the navel of the state was touch'd, 
They would not thread the gates. This kind of 
service 



94 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

1 80 Did not deserve corn gratis : being i' the war, 
Their mutinies and revolts, wherein they show'd 
Most valour, spoke not for them : the accusation 
Which they have often made against the senate, 
All cause unborn, could never be the native 

185 Of our so frank donation. Well, what then ? 
How shall this bosom multiplied digest 
The senate's courtesy ? Let deeds express 
What's like to be their words : ' We did request it ; 
We are the greater poll, and in true fear 

190 They gave us our demands.' Thus we debase 
The nature of our seats, and make the rabble 
Call our cares fears ; which will in time 
Break ope the locks o' the senate, and bring in 
The crows to peck the eagles. 

195 Men. Come, enough. 

Bru. Enough, with over measure. 
Cor. No, take more : 

What may be sworn by, both divine and human, 
Seal what I end withal ! This double worship, 

200 Where one part does disdain with cause, the other 
Insult without all reason; where gentry, title, 

wisdom, 
Cannot conclude but by the yea and no 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 95 

Of general ignorance, — it must omit 

Real necessities, and give way the while 205 

To unstable slightness : purpose so barr'd, it 

follows, 
Nothing is done to purpose. Therefore, beseech 

you, — 
You that will be less fearful than discreet ; 210 

That love the fundamental part of state 
More than you doubt the change on't° ; that 

prefer 
A noble life before a long, and wish 
To jump a body with a dangerous physic 215 

That's sure of death without it, — at once pluck 

out 
The multitudinous tongue ; let them not lick 
The sweet which is their poison. Your dishonour 
Mangles true judgment and bereaves the state 220 
Of that integrity which should become' t ; 
Not having the power to do the good it would, 
For the ill which doth control' t. 

Bru. Has said enough. 

Sic. Has spoken like a traitor, and shall 225 

answer 
As traitors do. 



96 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Cor. Thou wretch, despite o'erwhelm thee ! 

What should the people do with these bald° 
230 tribunes ? 

On whom depending, their obedience fails 
To the greater bench : in a rebellion, 
When what's not meet, but what must be, was 
law, 
235 Then were they chosen : in a better hour, 
Let what is meet be said it must be meet, 
And throw their power i' the dust. 
Bru. Manifest treason ! 
Sic. This a consul ? no. 

240 Bru. The sediles, ho ! 

Enter an ^Edile. 

Let him be apprehended. 
Sic. Go, call the people : [Exit Mdi\e\ in 
whose name myself 
Attach thee as a traitorous innovator, 
245 A foe to the public weal : obey, I charge thee, 
And follow to thine answer. 

Cor. Hence, old goat ! 

Senators, &c. We'll surety him. 

Com. Aged sir, hands off. 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 97 

Cor. Hence, rotten thing ! or I shall shake thy 250 
bones 
Out of thy garments. 

Sic. Help, ye citizens ! 

Enter a rabble of Citizens, with the ^Ediles. 

Men. On both sides more respect. 

Sic. Here's he that would take from you all 25s 

your power. 
Bru. Seize him, sediles ! 
Citizens. Down with him ! down with him ! 
Senators, &c. Weapons, weapons, weapons ! 

[They all bustle about Coriolanus, crying, 
1 Tribunes ! ' ' Patricians ! ' ' Citizens ! ' ' What, 260 

ho!' 
' Sicinius ! ' ' Brutus ! ' ' Coriolanus ! ' ' Citizens ! ' 
' Peace, peace, peace ! ' ' Stay ! hold ! peace ! ' 
Men. What is about to be? I am out of 
breath. 265 

Confusion's near. I cannot speak. You, trib- 
unes 
To the people ! Coriolanus, patience ! 
Speak, good Sicinius. 

Sic Hear me, people ; peace ! 270 

H 



98 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Citizens. Let's hear our tribune : peace ! — 
Speak, speak, speak. 

Sic. You are at point to lose your liberties : 
Marcius would have all from you ; Marcius, 
275 Whom late you have named for consul. 

Men. Fie, fie, fie ! 

This is the way to kindle, not to quench. 

First Sen. To unbuild the city, and to lay all 
flat. 
280 Sic. What is the city but the people ? 

Citizens. True, 

The people are the city. 

Bru. By the consent of all, we were establish' d 
The people's magistrates. 
285 Citizens. You so remain. 

Men. And so are like to do. 
Com. That is the way to lay the city flat, 
To bring the roof to the foundation, 
And bury all which yet distinctly ranges, 
290 In heaps and piles of ruin. 

Sic. This deserves death. 

Bru. Or let us stand to our authority, 
Or let us lose it. We do here pronounce, 
Upon the part o' the people, in whose power 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 99 

We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy 295 

Of present death. 

Sic. Therefore lay hold of him ; 

Bear him to the rock Tarpeian, and from thence 
Into destruction cast him. 

Bru. iEdiles, seize him ! 300 

Citizens. Yield, Marcius, yield ! 

Men. Hear me one word ; 

Beseech you, tribunes, hear me but a word. 

Mdiles. Peace, peace ! 

Men. [To Brutus] Be that you seem, truly 305 
your country's friend, 
And temperately proceed to what you would 
Thus violently redress. 

Bru. Sir, those cold ways, 

That seem like prudent helps, are very poisonous 310 
Where the disease is violent. Lay hands upon 

him, 
And bear him to the rock. 

Cor. No, I'll die here. [Drawing his sword. 
There's some among you have beheld me fighting : 315 
Come, try upon yourselves what you have seen me. 

Men. Down with that sword ! Tribunes, 
withdraw awhile. 



100 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Bru. Lay hands upon him. 
320 Men. Help Marcius, help, 

You that be noble ; help him, young and old ! 
Citizens. Down with him, down with him ! 
[In this mutiny, the Tribunes, the Mdiiles, and 

the People, are beat in. 
Men. Go, get you to your house ; be gone, 
away ! 
325 All will be naught else. 

Sec. Sen. Get you gone. 

Com. Stand fast ; 

We have as many friends as enemies 
Men. Shall it be put to that ? 
330 First Sen. The gods forbid ! 

I prithee, noble friend, home to thy house ; 
Leave us to cure this cause. 

Men. For 'tis a sore upon us 

You cannot tent° yourself : be gone, beseech you. 
335 Com. Come, sir, along with us. 

Cor. I would they were barbarians — as they 
are, 
Though in Rome litter' d — not Romans — as 
they are not, 
340 Though calved i' the porch o' the Capitol, — 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 101 

Men. Be gone : 

Put not your worthy rage into your tongue : 
One time will owe another. 

Cor. On fair ground 

I could beat forty of them. 34s 

Men. I could myself 

Take up a brace o' the best of them ; yea, the two 
tribunes. 

Com. But now 'tis odds beyond arithmetic ; 
And manhood is call'd foolery, when it stands 350 
Against a falling fabric. Will you hence 
Before the tag° return ? whose rage doth rend 
Like interrupted waters, and o'erbear 
What they are used to bear. 

Men. Pray you, be gone : 355 

I'll try whether my old wit be in request 
With those that have but little : this must be 

patch'd 
With cloth of any colour. 

Com. Nay, come away. 360 

[Exeunt Coriolanus, Cominius, and others. 

First Patrician. This man has marr'd his 
fortune. 

Men. His nature is too noble for the world : 



102 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

He would not flatter Neptune for his trident, 
365 Or Jove for's power to thunder. His heart's his 
mouth : 
What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent ; 
And, being angry, does forget that ever 
He heard the name of death. [A noise within. 
37° Here's goodly work ! 

Sec. Pat. I would they were a-bed ! 

Men. I would they were in Tiber ! What, 
the vengeance, 
Could he not speak 'em fair ? 

Re-enter Brutus and Sicinius, with the rabble. 

3 7 5 Sic. Where is this viper, 

That would depopulate the city, and 
Be every man himself? 

Men. You worthy tribunes — 

Sic. He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian 

380 rock 

With rigorous hands : he hath resisted law, 
And therefore law shall scorn him further trial 
Than the severity of the public power, 
Which he so sets at nought. 

385 First Cit. He shall well know 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 103 

The noble tribunes are the people's mouths, 
And we their hands. 

Citizens. He shall, sure on't. 

Men. Sir, sir, — 

Sic. Peace ! 390 

Men. Do not cry havoc, where you should 
but hunt 
With modest warrant. 

Sic. Sir, how comes' t that you 

Have holp to make this rescue ? 395 

Men. Hear me speak : 

As I do know the consul's worthiness, 
So can I name his faults, — 

Sic. Consul ! what consul ? 

Men. The consul Coriolanus. 4°° 

Bru. He consul ! 

Citizens. No, no, no, no, no. 

Men. If, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, 
good people, 
I may be heard, I would crave a word or two ; 405 
The which shall turn you to no further harm 
Than so much loss of time. 

Sic. Speak briefly then ; 

For we are peremptory to dispatch 



104 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

410 This viperous traitor : to eject him hence 
Were but one danger, and to keep him here 
Our certain death : therefore it is decreed 
He dies to-night. 

Men. Now the good gods forbid 

41s That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude 
Towards her deserved children is enroll'd 
In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam 
Should now eat up her own ! 

Sic. He's a disease that must be cut away. 
420 Men. O, he's a limb that has but a disease ; 
Mortal, to cut it off ; to cure it, easy. 
What has he done to Rome that's worthy death ? 
Killing our enemies, the blood he hath lost — 
Which, I dare vouch, is more than that he hath 
4 2 5 By many an ounce — he dropp'd it for his 
country ; 
And what is left, to lose it by his country 
Were to us all that do't and suffer it 
A brand to the end o' the world. 
430 Sic. This is clean kam.° 

Bru. Merely awry : when he did love his 
country, 
It honour'd him. 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 105 

Men. The service of the foot 

Being once gangrened, is not then respected 435 

For what before it was. 

Bru. We'll hear no more. 

Pursue him to his house, and pluck him thence ; 
Lest his infection, being of catching nature, 
Spread further. 440 

Men. One word more, one word. 

This tiger-footed rage, when it shall find 
The harm of unscann'd swiftness, will, too late, 
Tie leaden pounds to's heels. Proceed by 

process ; 445 

Lest parties, as he is beloved, break out, 
And sack great Rome with Romans. 

Bru. If it were so — 

Sic. What do ye talk? 
Have we not had a taste of his obedience ? 450 

Our aediles smote? ourselves resisted? Come. 

Men. Consider this : he has been bred i' the 
wars 
Since he could draw a sword, and is ill school'd 
In bolted language ; meal and bran together 455 
He throws without distinction. Give me leave, 
I'll go to him, and undertake to bring him 



106 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Where he shall answer, by a lawful form, 
In peace, to his utmost peril. 
460 First Sen. Noble tribunes, 

It is the humane way : the other course 
Will prove too bloody ; and the end of it 
Unknown to the beginning. 

Sic. Noble Menenius, 

465 Be you then as the people's officer. 
Masters, lay down your weapons. 

Bru. Go not home. 

Sic. Meet on the market-place. We'll attend 
you there : 
470 Where, if you bring not Marcius, we'll proceed 
In our first way. 

Men. I'll bring him to you. 

[ To the Senators] Let me desire your company : 
he must come, 
475 Or what is worst will follow. 

First Sen. Pray you, let's to him. 

[Exeunt. 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 107 

Scene II. 

A room in Coriolanus's house. 

Enter Coriolanus with Patricians. 

Cor. Let them pull all about mine ears ; pre- 
sent me 
Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels ; 
Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock, 
That the precipitation might down stretch 5 

Below the beam of sight ; yet will I still 
Be thus to them. 

A Patrician. You do the nobler. 

Cor. I muse my mother 
Does not approve me further, who was wont 10 

To call them woollen vassals, things created 
To buy and sell with groats, to show bare heads 
In congregations, to yawn, be still and wonder, 
When one but of my ordinance stood up 
To speak of peace or war. It . 

Enter Vclumnia. 

I talk of you : 
Why did you wish me milder ? would you have me 



108 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

False to my nature ? Rather say, I play 
The man I am. 
20 Vol. 0, sir, sir, sir, 

I would have had you put your power well on, 
Before you had worn it out. 

Cor. Let go.° 

Vol. You might have been enough the man 
25 you are, 

With striving less to be so : lesser had been 
The thwartings of your dispositions, if 
You had not show'd them how ye were disposed, 
Ere they lack'd power to cross you. 
30 Cor. Let them hang. 

Vol. Aye, and burn too.° 

Enter Menenius with the Senators. 

Men. Come, come, you have been too rough, 
something too rough ; 
You must return and mend it. 
ss First Sen. There's no remedy ; 

Unless, by not so doing, our good city 
Cleave in the midst, and perish. 

Vol. Pray, be counsell'd : 

I have a heart as little apt as yours, 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 109 

But yet a brain that leads my use of anger 40 

To better vantage. 

Men. Well said, noble woman ! 

Before he should thus stoop to the herd, but that 
The violent fit o' the time craves it as physic 
For the whole state, I would put mine armour on, 45 
Which I can scarcely bear. 

Cor. What must I do ? 

Men. Return to the tribunes. 

Cor. W^ell, what then? what then? 

Men. Repent what you have spoke. 50 

Cor. For them ! I cannot do it to the gods ; 
Must I then do't to them? 

Vol. You are too absolute ; 

Though therein you can never be too noble, 
But when extremities speak. I have heard you 55 

say, 
Honour and policy, like unsever'd friends, 
I' the war do grow together : grant that, and tell 

me, 
In peace what each of them by the other lose, 60 
That they combine not there. 

Cor. Tush, tush ! 

Men. A good demand. 



110 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Vol. If it be honour in your wars to seem 

65 The same you are not, which, for your best ends, 
You adopt your policy, how is it less or worse, 
That it shall hold companionship in peace 
With honour, as in war, since that to both 
It stands in like request ? 

70 Cor. Why force you this ? 

Vol. Because that now it lies you on° to speak 
To the people ; not by your own instruction, 
Nor by the matter which your heart prompts 
you, 

75 But with such words that are but roted° in 
Your tongue, though they may be but syllables 
Of no allowance to your bosom's truth. 
Now, this no more dishonours you at all 
Than to take in a town with gentle words, 

80 Which else would put you to your fortune and 
The hazard of much blood. 
I would dissemble with my nature, where 
My fortunes and my friends at stake required, 
I should do so in honour. I am in this, 

85 Your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles ; 
And you will rather show our general louts 
How you can frown than spend a fawn upon 'em, 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 111 

For the inheritance of their loves and safeguard 
Of what that want might ruin. 

Men. Noble lady ! 90 

Come, go with us ; speak fair : you may salve so, 
Not what is dangerous present, but the loss 
Of what is past. 

Vol. I prithee now, my son, 

Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hand ; 95 

And thus far° having stretch' d it — here be with 

them — 
Thy knee bussing the stones — for in such 

business 
Action is eloquent, and the eyes of the ignorant 100 
More learned than the ears — waving thy head, 
Which often, thus, correcting thy stout heart, 
Now humble as the ripest mulberry 
That will not hold the handling : or say to them, 
Thou art their soldier, and being bred in broils 105 
Hast not the soft way which, thou dost confess, 
Were fit for thee to use, as they to claim, 
In asking their good loves ; but thou wilt frame 
Thyself, forsooth, hereafter theirs, so far 
As thou hast power and person. no 

Men. This but done, 



112 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Even as she speaks, why, their hearts were yours ; 
For they have pardons, being ask'd, as free 
As words to little purpose. 
115 Vol. Prithee now, 

Go, and be ruled : although I know thou hadst 

rather 
Follow thine enemy in a fiery gulf 
Than flatter him in a bower. 

Enter Cominius. 

120 Here is Cominius. 

Com. I have been i' the market-place ; and, 
sir, 'tis fit 
You make strong party, or defend yourself 
By calmness or by absence : all's in anger. 
125 Men. Only fair speech. 

Com. I think 'twill serve, if he 

Can thereto frame his spirit. 

Vol. He must, and will. 

Prithee now, say you will, and go about it. 
130 Cor. Must I go show them my unbarb'd 
sconce ? must I, 
With my base tongue, give to my noble heart 
A lie, that it must bear? Well, I will do't : 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 113 

Yet, were there but this single plot to lose, 

This mould of Marcius, they to dust should grind 13s 

it, 
And throw't against the wind. To the market- 
place ! 
You have put me now to such a part, which never 
I shall discharge to the life. 140 

Com. Come, come, we'll prompt you. 

Vol. I prithee now, sweet son, as thou hast 
said 
My praises made thee first a soldier, so, 
To have my. praise for this, perform a part 145 

Thou hast not done before. 

Cor. Well, I must do't : 

Away, my disposition, and possess me 
Some harlot's spirit ! my throat of war be turn'd, 
Which quired with my drum, into a pipe 150 

Small as an eunuch, or the virgin voice 
That babies lulls asleep ! the smiles of knaves 
Tent° in my cheeks, and schoolboys' tears take 

up 
The glasses of my sight ! a beggar's tongue 155 

Make motion through my lips, and my arm'd 
knees 
1 



114 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Who bow'd but in my stirrup, bend like his 

That hath received an alms ! I will not do't ; 
1 60 Lest I surcease to honour mine own truth, 

And by my body's action teach my mind 

A most inherent baseness. 

Vol. At thy choice then : 

To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour 
165 Than thou of them. Come all to ruin : let 

Thy mother rather feel thy pride than fear 

Thy dangerous stoutness, for I mock at death 

With as big a heart as thou. Do as thou list. 

Thy valiantness was mine, thou suck'dst it from 
170 me, 

But owe thy pride thyself. 

Cor. Pray, be content : 

Mother, I am going to the market-place ; 

Chide me no more. I'll mountebank their loves, 
175 Cog° their hearts from them, and come home 
beloved 

Of all the trades in Rome. Look, I am going : 

Commend me to my wife. I'll return consul ; 

Or never trust to what my tongue can do 
180 1' the way of flattery further. 

Vol. Do your will. [Exit. 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 115 

Com. Away ! the tribunes do attend you : arm 
yourself 
To answer mildly ; for they are prepared 
With accusations, as I hear, more strong 185 

Than are upon you yet. 

Cor. The word is ' mildly.' Pray you, let us 
go: 
Let them accuse me by invention, I 
Will answer in mine honour. I 9° 

Men. Ay, but mildly. 

Cor. Well, mildly be it then. Mildly ! 

[Exeunt. 



Scene III. 

The same. The Forum. 

Enter Sicinius and Brutus. 

Bru. In this point charge him home, that he 
affects 
Tyrannical power : if he evades us there, 
Enforce him with his envy° to the people ; 
And that the spoil got on the Antiates 
Was ne'er distributed. 



116 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Enter an tEdile. 

What, will he come ? 

Md. He's coming. 

Bru. How accompanied? 

10 Md. With old Menenius and those senators 
That always favour' d him. 

Sic. Have you a catalogue 

Of all the voices that we have procured, 
Set down by the poll ? 
15 Md. I have ; 'tis ready. 

Sic. Have you collected them by tribes ? 
Md. I have. 

Sic. Assemble presently the people hither : 
And when they hear me say ' It shall be so 
20 1' the right and strength o' the commons,' be it 
either 
For death, for fine, or banishment, then let them, 
If I say fine, cry ' Fine,' if death, cry ' Death,' 
Insisting on the old prerogative 
25 And power i' the truth o' the cause. 

Md. I shall inform them. 

Bru. And when such time they have begun 
to cry, 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 117 

Let them not cease, but with a din confused 
Enforce the present execution 30 

Of what we chance to sentence. 

JEd. Very well, 

Sic. Make them be strong, and ready for this 
hint, 
When we shall hap to give't them. 35 

Bru. Go about it. [Exit /Edile. 

Put him to choler straight : he hath been used 
Ever to conquer and to have his worth 
Of contradiction : being once chafed, he cannot 
Be rein'd again to temperance ; then he speaks 4° 
What's in his heart ; and that is there which looks 
With us to break his neck.° 

Sic. Well, here he comes. 

Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, and Cominius, 
with Senators and Patricians. 

Men. Calmly, I do beseech you. 
Cor. Ay, as an ostler, that for the poorest 45 
piece 
Will bear the knave by the volume. The 

honour'd gods 
Keep Rome in safety, and the chairs of justice 



118 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

50 Supplied with worthy men ! plant love among's ! 
Throng our large temples with the shows of 

peace, 
And not our streets with war ! 

First Sen. Amen, amen. 

55 Men. A noble wish. 

Re-enter ^Edile, with Citizens. 

Sic. Draw near, ye people. 

M&. List to your tribunes ; audience : peace, 

I say ! 
Cor. First, hear me speak. 
Co Both Tri. Well, say. Peace, ho ! 

Cor. Shall I be charged no further than this 
present ? 
Must all determine here ? 

Sic. I do demand, 

65 If you submit you to the people's voices, 
Allow their officers, and are content 
To suffer lawful censure for such faults 
As shall be proved upon you. 

Cor. I am content. 

70 Men. Lo, citizens, he says he is content : 
The warlike service he has done, consider ; think 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 119 

Upon the wounds his body bears, which show 
Like graves i' the holy churchyard. 

Cor. Scratches with briers, 

Scars to move laughter only. 75 

Men. Consider further, 

That when he speaks not like a citizen, 
You find him like a soldier : do not take 
His rougher accents for malicious sounds, 
But, as I say, such as become a soldier 8o 

Rather than envy you.° 

Com. Well, well, no more. 

Cor. What is the matter 
That being pass'd for consul with full voice, 
I am so dishonour' d that the very hour 8s 

You take it off again ? 

Sic. Answer to us. 

Cor. Say, then : 'tis true, I ought so. 

Sic. We charge you, that you have contrived 
to take 9 o 

From Rome all season'd office, and to wind 
Yourself into a power tyrannical ; 
For which you are a traitor to the people. 

Cor. How ! traitor ! 

Men. Nay, temperately ; your promise. 95 



120 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act III. 

Cor. The fires i' the lowest hell fold-in the 
people ! 
Call me their traitor ! Thou injurious tribune ! 
Within thine eyes sat° twenty thousand deaths, 
iooln thy hands clutch'd as many millions, in 
Thy lying tongue both numbers, I would say 
'Thou liest' unto thee with a voice as free 
As I do pray the gods. 

Sic. Mark you this, people ? 

105 Citizens. To the rock, to the rock with him ! 
Sic. Peace ! 
We need not put new matter to his charge : 
What you have seen him do and heard him 
speak, 
no Beating your officers, cursing yourselves, 
Opposing laws with strokes, and here defying 
Those whose great power must try him ; even 

this, 
So criminal and in such capital kind, 
ns Deserves the extremest death. 

Bru. But since he hath 

Served well for Rome — 

Cor. What do you prate of service ? 

Bru. I talk of that, that know it. 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 121 

Cor. You? 1 20 

Men. Is this the promise that you made your 
mother ? 

Com,. Know, I pray you, — 

Cor. I'll know no further : 

Let them pronounce the steep Tarpeian death, 125 
Vagabond exile, flaying, pent to linger 
But with a grain a day, I would not buy 
Their mercy at the price of one fair word, 
Nor check my courage for what they can give, 
To hav't with saying ' Good morrow.' 130 

Sic. For that he has, 

As much as in him lies, from time to time 
Envied against the people, seeking means 
To pluck away their power, as now at last 
Given hostile strokes, and that not° in the presence 135 
Of dread justice, but on the ministers 
That do distribute it ; in the name o ' the people, 
And in the power of us the tribunes, we, 
Even from this instant, banish him our city, 
In peril of precipitation 140 

From off the Tarpeian, never more 
To enter our Rome gates : i' the people's name, 
I say it shall be so. 



122 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act HI. 

Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so ; let him 
14s away : 

He's banish'd, and it shall be so. 

Com. Hear me, my masters, and my common 

friends, — 
Sic. He's sentenced ; no more hearing. 
150 Com. Let me speak : 

I have been consul, and can show for Rome 
Her enemies' marks upon me. I do love 
My country's good with a respect more tender, 
More holy and profound, than mine own life, 
155 My dear wife's estimate : then if I would 
Speak that — 

Sic. We know your drift : — speak what ? 

Bru. There's no more to be said, but he is 
banish'd, 
160 As enemy to the people and his country : 
It shall be so. 

Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so. 
Cor. You common cry° of curs ! whose breath 
I hate . 
165 As reek o' the rotten fens, whose loves I prize 
As the dead carcasses of unburied men 
That do corrupt my air, I banish you ; 
And here remain with your uncertainty ! 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 123 

Let every feeble rumour shake your hearts ! 

Your enemies, with nodding of their plumes, 17° 

Fan you into despair ! Have the power still 

To banish your defenders ; till at length 

Your ignorance, which finds not till it feels, 

Making but reservation of yourselves, 

Still your own foes, deliver you as most 175 

Abated captives to some nation 

That won you without blows ! Despising, 

For you, the city, thus I turn my back : 

There is a world elsewhere. 

[Exeunt Coriolanus, Cominius, Menenius, Sen- 
ators and Patricians. 

Ma 1 . The people's enemy is gone, is gone ! 180 

Citizens. Our enemy is banish'd ! he is gone ! 
Hoo ! hoo° ! 

[They all shout, and throw up their caps. 

Sic. Go, see him out at gates, and follow him, 
As he hath follow'd you, with all despite ; 
Give him deserved vexation. Let a guard 185 

Attend us through the city. 

Citizens. Come, come, let's see him out at 
gates ; come, 
The gods preserve our noble tribunes ! Come. 

[Exeunt. 



ACT FOURTH. — Scene I. 

Rome. Before a gate of the city. 

Enter Coriolanus, Volumnia, Virgilia, Me- 
nenius, Cominius, with the young Nobility 
of Rome. 

Cor. Come, leave your tears ; a brief farewell : 
the beast 
With many heads butts me away. Nay, mother, 
Where is your ancient courage ? you were used 
5 To say extremity was the trier of spirits ; 
That common chances common men could bear ; 
That when the sea was calm all boats alike 
Show'd mastership in floating ; fortune's blows, 
When most struck home, being gentle wounded, 
to craves 
A noble cunning : you were used to load me 
With precepts that would make invincible 
The heart that conn'd them. 
Vir. O heavens ! O heavens ! 

124 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 125 

Cor. Nay, I prithee, woman, — 15 

Vol. Now the red pestilence strike all trades 
in Rome, 
And occupations perish ! 

Cor. What, what, what ! 

I shall be loved when I am lack'd. Nay, mother, 20 
Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say, 
If you had been the wife of Hercules, 
Six of his labours you'ld have done, and saved 
Your husband so much sweat. Cominius, 
Droop not ; adieu. Farewell, my wife, my 25 

mother, 
I'll do well yet. Thou old and true Menenius, 
Thy tears are Salter than a younger man's 
And venomous to thine eyes. My sometime 

general, 3° 

I have seen thee stern, and thou hast oft beheld 
Heart-hardening spectacles ; tell these sad women, 
'Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes, 
As 'tis to laugh at 'em. My mother, you wot° 

well 35 

My hazards still have been your solace : and 
Believe't not lightly — though I go alone, 
Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen° 



126 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Makes fear'd and talk'd of more than seen — your 
40 son 

Will or exceed the common, or be caught 
With cautelous baits and practice. 

Vol. My first son, 

Whither wilt thou go ? Take good Cominius 
45 With thee awhile : determine on some course, 
More than a wild exposture to each chance 
That starts i' the way before thee. 

Cor. O the gods° ! 

Com. I'll follow thee a month, devise with thee 
so Where thou shalt rest, that thou mayst hear of us 
And we of thee : so, if the time thrust forth 
A cause for thy repeal, we shall not send 
O'er the vast world to seek a single man, 
And lose advantage, which doth ever cool 
55 F the absence of the needer. 

Cor. Fare ye well : 

Thou hast years upon thee ; and thou art too full 
Of the wars' surfeits, to go rove with one 
That's yet unbruised : bring me but out at gate. 
63 Come, my sweet wife, my dearest mother, and 
My friends of noble touch, when I am forth, 
Bid me farewell, and smile. I pray you, come. 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 127 

While I remain above the ground, you shall 

Hear from me still, and never of me aught 

But what is like me formerly. 65 

Men. That's worthily 

As any ear can hear. Come let's not weep. 
If I could shake off but one seven years 
From these old arms and legs, by the good gods, 
I'ld with thee every foot. 70 

Cor. Give me thy hand : 

Come. [Exeunt. 

Scene II. 

The same. A street near the gate. 

Enter the two Tribunes, Sicinius and Brutus, 
with the ^Edile. 

Sic. Bid them all home ; he's gone, and we'll 
no further. 
The nobility are vex'd, whom we see have sided 
In his behalf. 

Bru. Now we have shown our power, 5 

Let us seem humbler after it is done 
Than when it was a-doing. 



128 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Sic. Bid them home : 

Say their great enemy is gone, and they 
io Stand in their ancient strength. 

Bru. Dismiss them home. [Exit Mdile. 

Here comes his mother. 

Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Menenius. 

Sic. Let's not meet her. 

Bru. Why? 

is Sic. They say she's mad. 

Bru. They have ta'en note of us : keep on 

your way. 
Vol. O, ye're well met : the hoarded plague 
o' the gods° 
20 Requite your love ! 

Men. Peace, peace ; be not so loud. 

Vol. If that I could for weeping, you should 
hear, — 
Nay, and you shall hear some. [To Brutus] Will 
2 S you be gone ? 

Vir. [ To Sicinius] You shall stay too : I 
would I had the power 
To say so to my husband. 

Sic. Are you mankind ? 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 129 

Vol. Ay, fool ; is that a shame ? Note but 30 
this fool. 
Was not a man my father ? Hadst thou foxship 
To banish him that struck more blows for Rome 
Than thou hast spoken words ? 

Sic. O blessed heavens ! 35 

Vol. Moe noble blows than ever thou wise 
words ; 
And for Rome's good. I'll tell thee what; yet 

go: 
Nay, but thou shalt stay too : I would my son 40 
Were in Arabia, and thy tribe before him, 
His good sword in his hand. 

Sic. What then? 

Vir. What then 

He'ld make an end of thy posterity. 45 

Men. Come, come, peace. 

Sic. I would he had continued to his country 
As he began, and not unknit himself 
The noble knot he made. 

Bru. I would he had. 50 

Vol. 'I would he had!' 'Twas you incensed 
the rabble ; 
Cats, that can judge as fitly of his worth 



130 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

As I can of those mysteries which heaven 
55 Will not have earth to know. 

Bru. Pray, let us go. 

Vol. Now, pray, sir, get you gone : 
You have done a brave deed. Ere you go, hear 
this : 
60 As far as doth the Capitol exceed 

The meanest house in Rome, so far my son — 
This lady's husband here, this, do you see ? — 
Whom you have banish'd, does exceed you all. 
Bru. Well, well, we'll leave you. 
65 Sic. Why stay we to be baited 

With one that wants her wits ? 

Vol. Take my prayers with you. 

[Exeunt Tribunes. 
I would the gods had nothing else to do 
But to confirm my curses ! Could I meet 'em 
70 But once a-day, it would unclog my heart 
Of what lies heavy to't. 

Men. You have told them home 

And, by my troth, you have cause. You'll sup 
with me ? 
75 Vol. Anger's my meat ; I sup upon myself, 
And so shall starve with feeding. Come, let's go : 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 131 

Leave this faint puling, and lament as I do, 
In anger, Juno-like. Come, come, come. 

[Exeunt Vol. and Vir. 
Men. Fie, fie, fie ! [Exit. 

Scene III. 
A highway between Rome and Antium. 
Enter a Roman and a Volsce, meeting. 

Rom. I know you well, sir, and you know me : 
your name, I think, is Adrian. 

Vols. It is so, sir ; truly, I have forgot you. 

Rom. I am a Roman ; and my services are, as 
you are, against 'em° : know you me yet ? s 

Vols. Nicanor? no. 

Rom. The same, sir. 

Vols. You had more beard when I last saw 
you ; but your favour is well appeared by your 
tongue. What's the news in Rome? I have a 10 
note from the Volscian state, to find you out there : 
you have well saved me a day's journey. 

Rom. There hath been in Rome strange in- 
surrections ; the people against the senators, 
patricians and nobles. 15 



132 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Vols. Hath been! is it ended then? Our 
state thinks not so : they are in a most warlike 
preparation, and hope to come upon them in the 
heat of their division. 
20 Rom. The main blaze of it is past, but a small 
thing would make it flame again : for the nobles 
receive so to heart the banishment of that worthy 
Coriolanus, that they are in a ripe aptness to take 
all power from the people, and to pluck from them 
25 their tribunes for ever. This lies glowing, I can 
tell you, and is almost mature for the violent 
breaking out. 

Vols. Coriolanus banished ! 
Rom. Banished, sir. 
30 Vols. You will be welcome with this intelli- 
gence, Nicanor. 

Rom. The day serves well for them now. 
Your noble Tullus Aufidius will appear well in 
these wars, his great opposer, Coriolanus, being 
35 now in no request of his country. 

Vols. He cannot choose. I am most for- 
tunate, thus accidentally to encounter you : you 
have ended my business, and I will merrily 
accompany you home. 



Scene 4.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 133 

Rom. I shall, between this and supper, tell 40 
you most strange things from Rome ; all tend- 
ing to the good of their adversaries. Have 
you an army ready, say you ? 

Vols. A most royal one ; the centurions and 
their charges, distinctly billeted, already in the 45 
entertainment, and to be on foot at an hour's 
warning. 

Rom. I am joyful to hear of their readiness, 
and am the man, I think, that shall set them 
in present action. So, sir, heartily well met, and 50 
most glad of your company. 

Vols. You take my part from me, sir ; I have 
the most cause to be glad of yours. 

Rom. Well, let us go together. [Exeunt. 

Scene IV. 
Antium. Before Aufidius's house. 

Enter Coriolanus in mean apparel, disguised and 

muffled. 

Cor. A goodly city is this Antium. City, 
'Tis I that made thy widows : many an heir 



134 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Of these fair edifices 'fore my wars 
Have I heard groan and drop : then know me 
5 not ; 

Lest thy wives with spits, and boys with stones, 
In puny battle slay me. 

Enter a Citizen. 

Save you, sir. 
Cit. And you. 
10 Cor. Direct me, if it be your will, 

Where great Aufidius lies : is he in Antium ? 

Cit. He is, and feasts the nobles of the state 
At his house this night. 

Cor. Which is his house, beseech you ? 

15 Cit. This, here, before you. 

Cor. Thank you, sir : farewell. 

[Exit Citizen. 
O world, thy slippery turns ! Friends now fast 

sworn, 
Whose double bosoms seem to wear one heart, 
20 Whose hours, whose bed, whose meal and exercise 
Are still together, who twin, as 'twere, in love 
Unseparable, shall within this hour, 
On a dissension of a doit,° break out 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 135 

To bitterest enmity : so, fellest foes, 

Whose passions and whose plots have broke their 25 

sleep 
To take the one the other, by some chance, 
Some trick not worth an egg, shall grow dear 

friends 
And inter join their issues. So with me : 30 

My birth-place hate I, and my love's upon 
This enemy town. I'll enter : if he slay me, 
He does fair justice ; if he give me way,° 
I'll do his country service. [Exit. 

Scene V. 

The same. A hall in Aufidius's house. 

Music within. Enter a Servingman. 

First Serv. Wine, wine, wine ! — What service 
is here ! I think our fellows are asleep. 

[Exit. 
Enter another Servingman. 

Sec. Serv. Where's Cotus°? my master calls 
for him. Cotus ! [Exit. 



136 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Enter Coriolanus. 

s Cor. A goodly house : the feast smells well ; 
but I 
Appear not like a guest. 

Re-enter the first Servingman. 

First Serv. What would you have, friend? 

whence are you ? Here's no place for you : pray, 

10 go to the door. [Exit. 

Cor. I have deserved no better entertainment, 

In being Coriolanus. 

Re-enter second Servingman. 

Sec. Serv. Whence are you, sir? Has the 
porter his eyes in his head, that he gives en- 
15 trance to such companions ? Pray, get you 
out. 

Cor. Away ! 

Sec. Serv. 'Away !' get you away. 
Cor. Now thou'rt troublesome. 
20 Sec. Serv. Are you so brave? I'll have you 
talked with anon. 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 137 

Enter a third Servingman. The first meets him. 

Third Sen. What fellow's this ? 

First Serv. A strange one as ever I looked on : 
I cannot get him out o' the house : prithee, call 
my master to him. [Retires. 25 

Third Serv. What have you to do here, fellow ? 
Pray you, avoid the house. 

Cor. Let me but stand ; I will not hurt your 
hearth. 

Third Serv. What are you ? 30 

Cor. A gentleman. 

Third Serv. A marvellous poor one. 

Cor. True, so I am. 

Third Serv. Pray you, poor gentleman, take 
up some other station ; here's no place for you ; 35 
pray you, avoid : come. 

Cor. Follow your function, go, and batten on 
cold bits. [Pushes him aicay from him. 

Third Serv. What, you will not ? Prithee, tell 
my master what a strange guest he has here. 40 

Sec. Serv. And I shall. [Exit. 

Third Serv. Where dwell'st thou ? 

Cor. Under the canopy. 

Third Serv. Under the canopy ! 



138 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

45 Cor. Ay. 

Third Serv. Where's that ? 
Cor. F the city of kites and crows. 
Third Serv. F the city of kites and crows ! 
What an ass it is ! Then thou dwell'st with daws° 
50 too ? 

Cor. No, I serve not thy master. 

Third Serv. How, sir ! do you meddle with my 

master ? 
Cor. Thou pratest, and pratest; serve with 
55 thy trencher, hence ! 

[Beats him away. Exit third Servingman. 

Enter Aufidius with the second Servingman. 

Auf. Where is this fellow? 
Sec. Serv. Here, sir : Fid have beaten him like 
a dog, but for disturbing the lords within. 

[Retires. 

Auf. Whence comest thou? what wouldst 

60 thou ? thy name ? 

Why speak'st not ? speak, man : what's thy 

name? 

Cor. [Unmuffling] If, Tullus, 

Not yet thou knowest me, and, seeing me, dost not 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 139 

Think me for the man I am, necessity 6s 

Commands me name myself. 

Auf. What is thy name ? 

Cor. A name unmusical to the Volscians' ears, 
And harsh in sound to thine. 

Auf. Say, what's thy name? 70 

Thou hast a grim appearance, and thy face 
Bears a command in't; though thy tackle's torn, 
Thou show'st a noble vessel : what's thy name ? 

Cor. Prepare thy brow to frown : — know'st 
thou me yet? 75 

Auf. I know thee not : — thy name ? 

Cor. My name is Gaius Marcius, who hath 
done 
To thee particularly, and to all the Volsces, 
Great hurt and mischief ; thereto witness may 80 
My surname, Coriolanus : the painful service, 
The extreme dangers, and the drops of blood 
Shed for my thankless country, are requited 
But with that surname ; a good memory, 
And witness of the malice and displeasure 85 

Which thou shouldst bear me : only that name 

remains : 
The cruelty and envy of the people, 



140 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Permitted by our dastard nobles, who 
93 Have all forsook me, hath devour'd the rest ; 
And suffer'd me by the voice of slaves to be 
Hoop'd out of Rome. Now, this extremity 
Hath brought me to thy hearth : not out of 
hope — 
95 Mistake me not — to save my life, for if 
I had fear'd death, of all the men i' the world 
I would have 'voided thee ; but in mere spite, 
To be full quit of° those my banishers, 
Stand I before thee here. Then if thou hast 
ioo A heart of wreak in thee, thou wilt revenge 
Thine own particular wrongs, and stop those 

maims 
Of shame seen through thy country, speed thee 
straight, 
105 And make my misery serve thy turn : so use it 
That my revengeful services may prove 
As benefits to thee ; for I will fight 
Against my canker'd country with the spleen 
Of all the under fiends. But if so be 
no Thou darest not this, and that to prove more 
fortunes 
Thou'rt tired, then, in a word, I also am 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 141 

Longer to live most weary, and present 

My throat to thee and to thy ancient malice ; 

Which not to cut would show thee but a fool, us 

Since I have ever follow' d thee with hate, 

Drawn tuns of blood out of thy country's breast, 

And cannot live but to thy shame, unless 

It be to do thee service. 

Auf. O Marcius, Marcius ! 120 

Each word thou hast spoke hath weeded from my 

heart 
A root of ancient envy.° If Jupiter 
Should from yond cloud speak divine things, 
And say "Tis true,' I'ld not believe them more 125 
Than thee all noble Marcius. Let me twine 
Mine arms about that body, where against 
My grained ash an hundred times hath broke, 
And scarr'd the moon with splinters : here I clip 
The anvil of my sword, and do contest 130 

As hotly and as nobly with thy love 
As ever in ambitious strength I did 
Contend against thy valour. Know thou first, 
I loved the maid I married ; never man 
Sigh'd truer breath ; but that I see thee here, 135 
Thou noble thing ! more dances my rapt heart 



142 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Than when I first my wedded mistress saw 
Bestride my threshold. Why, thou Mars ! 
I tell thee, 

140 We have a power on foot ; and I had purpose 
Once more to hew thy target from thy brawn, 
Or lose mine arm for't : thou hast beat me out° 
Twelve several times, and I have nightly since 
Dreamt of encounters 'twixt thyself and me ; 

145 We have been down together in my sleep, 
Unbuckling helms, fisting each other's throat ; 
And waked half dead with nothing. Worthy 

Marcius, 
Had we no quarrel else to Rome but that 

150 Thou art thence banish'd, we would muster all 
From twelve to seventy, and pouring war 
Into the bowels of ungrateful Rome, 
Like a bold flood o'er-beat. O, come, go in, 
And take our friendly senators by the hands, 

15s Who now are here, taking their leaves of me, 
Who am prepared against your territories, 
Though not for Rome itself. 

Cor. You bless me, gods ! 

Auf. Therefore, most absolute sir, if thou 

160 wilt have 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 143 

The leading of thine own revenges, take 
The one half of my commission, and set down — 
As best thou art experienced, since thou know'st 
Thy country's strength and weakness — thine 

own ways; 165 

Whether to knock against the gates of Rome, 
Or rudely visit them in parts remote, 
To fright them, ere destroy. But come in : 
Let me commend thee first to those that shall 
Say yea to thy desires. A thousand welcomes ! 17° 
And more a friend than e'er an enemy ; 
Yet, Marcius, that was much. Your hand : most 
welcome ! 

[Exeunt Coriolanus and Aufidius. The two Ser- 
vingmen come forward. 

First Serv. Here's a strange alteration ! 

Sec. Serv. By my hand, I had thought to have 17s 
strucken him with a cudgel ; and yet my mind 
gave me° his clothes made a false report of 
him. 

First Serv. What an arm he has ! he turned 
me about with his finger and his thumb, as one 180 
would set up a top. 

Sec. Serv. Nay, I knew by his face that there 



144 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

was something in him : he had, sir, a kind of face, 
me thought, — I cannot tell how to term it. 
185 First Serv. He had so; looking as it were — 
Would I were hanged, but I thought there 
was more in him than I could think. 

Sec. Serv. So did I, I'll be sworn : he is simply 
the rarest man i' the world. 
190 First Serv. I think he is : but a greater soldier 
than he, you wot one.° 

Sec. Serv. Who ? my master ? 
First Serv. Nay, it's no matter for that. 
Sec. Serv. Worth six on him. 
195 First Serv. Nay, not so neither : but I take 
him to be the greater soldier. 

Sec. Serv. Faith, look you, one cannot tell 
how to say that : for the defence of a town, our 
general is excellent. 
200 First Serv. Ay, and for an assault too. 

Re-enter third Servingman. 

Third Serv. O slaves, I can tell you news ; 

news, you rascals ! 
First and Sec. Serv. What, what, what ? let's 

partake. 



Scene 5.] THE TRAGEDY OF COHIOLANUS 145 

Third Serv. I would not be a Roman, of all 205 
nations ; I had as lieve be a condemned man. 

First and Sec. Serv. Wherefore ? wherefore ? 

Third Serv. Why, here's he that was wont to 
thwack our general, Caius Marcius. 

First Serv. Why do you say, thwack our 2 io 
general ? 

Third Serv. I do not say, thwack our general ; 
but he was always good enough for him . 

Sec. Serv. Come, we are fellows and friends 
he was ever too hard for him ; I have heard him 215 
say so himself. 

First Serv. He was too hard for him directly 
to say the troth on't : before Corioli he scotched 
him and notched him like a carbonado. 

Sec. Serv. An he had been cann bally given, 220 
he might have broiled and eaten him too. 

First Serv. But, more of thy news ? 

Third Serv. Why, he is so made on here within 
as if he were son and heir to Mars ; set at upper 
endo' the table ; no question asked him by any 22 - 
of the senators, but they stand bald before him. 
Our general himself makes a mistress of him ; sanc- 
tifies himself with's hand, and turns up the white 

L 



146 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

o' the eye° to his discourse. But the bottom of 
230 the news is, our general is cut i' the middle, and 
but one half of what he was yesterday; for the 
other has half, by the entreaty and grant of the 
whole table. He'll go, he says, and sowl° the porter 
of Rome gates by the ears : he will mow all down 
235 before him, and leave his passage poll'd. 

Sec. Serv. And he's as like to do't as any man 
I can imagine. 

Third Serv. Do't ! he will do't ; for, look you, 

sir, he has as many friends as enemies ; which 

240 friends, sir, as it were, durst not, look you, sir, 

show themselves, as we term it, his friends whilst 

he's in directitude. 

First Serv. Directitude! what's that? 
Third Serv. But when they shall see, sir, his 
24s crest up again and the man in blood, they will 
out of their burrows, like conies after rain, and 
revel all with him. 

First Serv. But when goes this forward ? 
Third Serv. To-morrow ; to-day ; presently : 
250 you shall have the drum struck up this afternoon : 
'tis, as it were, a parcel of their feast, and to be 
executed ere they wipe their lips. 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 147 

Sec. Serv. Why, then we shall have a stirring 
world again. This peace is nothing, but to rust 
iron, increase tailors, and breed ballad-makers. 255 

First Serv. Let me have war, say I ; it exceeds 
peace as far as day does night ; it's spritely, wak- 
ing, audible, and full of vent.° Peace is a very 
apoplexy, lethargy, mull'd, deaf, sleepy, insen- 
sible. 260 

Sec. Serv. 'Tis so. 

First Serv. Ay, and it makes men hate one 
another. 

Third Serv. Reason ; because they then less 
need one another. The wars for my money. 1 265 
hope to see Romans as cheap as Volscians. They 
are rising, they are rising. 

First and Sec. Serv. In, in, in, in ! [Exeunt. 



Scene VI. 

Rome. A Public Place. 

Enter the two Tribunes, Sicinius and Brutus. 

Sic. We hear not of him, neither need we fear 
him; 



148 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

His remedies are tame i' the present peace 
And quietness of the people, which before 
s Were in wild hurry. Here do we make his friends 
Blush that the world goes well ; who rather had, 
Though they themselves did suffer by't, behold 
Dissentious numbers pestering streets than see 
Our tradesmen singing in their shops and going 
10 About their functions friendly. 

Bru. We stood to't in good time. 

Enter Menenius. 

Is this Menenius ? 
Sic. 'Tis he, 'tis he : O, he is grown most kind 
Of late. Hail, sir ! 
15 Men. Hail to you both ! 

Sic. Your Coriolanus is not much miss'd, 
But with his friends : the commonwealth doth 

stand ; 
And so would do, were he more angry at it. 
20 Men. All's well ; and might have been much 
better, if 
He could have temporized. 

Sic. Where is he, hear you ? 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 149 

Men. Nay, I hear nothing : his mother and 
his wife 2 S 

Hear nothing from him. 

Enter three or four Citizens. 

Citizens. The gods preserve you both ! 

Sic. God-den,° our neighbours. 

Bru. God-den to you all, god-den to you all. 

First Cit. Ourselves, our wives, and children, 30 
on our knees, 
Are bound to pray for you both. 

Sic. Live, and thrive ! 

Bru. Farewell, kind neighbours : we wish'd 
Coriolanus 35 

Had loved you as we did. 

Citizens. Now the gods keep you ! 

Both Tri. Farewell, farewell. [Exeunt Citizens. 

Sic. This is a happier and more comely time 
Than when these fellows ran about the streets, 4° 
Crying confusion. 

Bru. Caius Marcius was 

A worthy officer i' the war, but insolent, 
O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all thinking, 
Self -loving, — 45 



150 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Sic. And affecting one sole throne ; ° 

Without assistance. 

Men. I think not so. 

Sic. We should by this, to all our lamentation, 
50 If he had gone forth consul, found it so. 

Bru. The gods have well prevented it, and 
Rome 
Sits safe and still without him. 

Enter an ^Edile. 

JEd. Worthy tribunes, 

55 There is a slave, whom we have put in prison, 
Reports, the Volsces with two several powers 
Are enter' d in the Roman territories, 
And with the deepest malice of the war 
Destroy what lies before 'em. 
60 Men. 'Tis Aufidius, 

Who, hearing of our Marcius' banishment, 
Thrusts forth his horns again into the world ; 
Which were inshell'd when Marcius stood for 
Rome, 
65 And durst not once peep out 

Sic. Come, what talk you 

Of Marcius? 



70 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF C0RI0LANUS 151 

Bru. Go see this rumourer whipp'd. It 
cannot be 
The Volsces dare break with us. 

Men. Cannot be ! 

We have record that very well it can, 
And three examples of the like have been 
Within my age. But reason with the fellow, 
Before you punish him, where he heard this, 75 

Lest you shall chance to whip your information, 
And beat the messenger who bids beware 
Of what is to be dreaded. 

Sic. Tell not me : 

I know this cannot be. 8o 

Bru. Not possible. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Mess. The nobles in great earnestness are 
going 
All to the senate-house : some news is come 
That turns their countenances. 85 

Sic. 'Tis this slave; 

Go whip him 'fore the people's eyes : his raising ; 
Nothing but his report. 

Mess. Yes, worthy sir, 



152 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

go The slave's report is seconded ; and more, 
More fearful, is deliver'd. ^ 

Sic. What more fearful ? 

Mess. It is spoke freely out of many mouths — 
How probable I do not know — that Marcius, 
95 Join'd with Aufidius, leads a power 'gainst Rome, 
And vows revenge as spacious as between 
The young'st and oldest thing. 

Sic. This is most likely ! 

Bru. Raised only, that the weaker sort may 
ioo wish 

Good Marcius home again. 

Sic. The very trick on't. 

Men. This is unlikely. 
He and Aufidius can no more atone 
105 Than violentest contrariety. 

Enter a second Messenger. 

Sec. Mess. You are sent for to the senate : 
A fearful army, led by Caius Marcius 
Associated with Aufidius, rages 
Upon our territories ; and have already 
no O'erborne their way, consumed with fire, and took 
What lay before them. 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 153 

Enter Cominius. 

Com. O, you have made good work ! 

Men. What news ? what news ? 

Com. You have holp to ravish your own 
daughters, and 115 

To melt the city leads upon your pates ; 
To see your wives dishonour' d to your noses, — 

Men. What's the news ? what's the news ? 

Com. Your temples burned in their cement, 
and 1 20 

Your franchises, whereon you stood, confined 
Into an auger's bore.° 

Men. Pray now, your news ? — 

You have made fair work, I fear me. — Pray, your 

news? — 125 

If Marcius should be join'd with Volscians, — 

Com. If! 

He is their god : he leads them like a thing 
Made by some other deity than nature, 
That shapes man better ; and they follow him, 130 
Against us brats, with no less confidence 
Than boys pursuing summer butterflies, 
Or butchers killing flies. 

Men. You have made good work, 



154 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

135 You and your apron-men° ; you that stood so 
much 
Upon the voice of occupation and 
The breath of garlic-eaters ! 

Com. He'll shake your Rome about your ears. 
140 Men. As Hercules 

Did shake down mellow fruit. You have made 
fair work ! 
Bru. But is this true, sir? 
Coin. Ay ; and you'll look pale 

14s Before you find it other. All the regions 
Do smilingly revolt ; and who resist 
Are mock'd for valiant ignorance, 
And perish constant fools. Who is't can blame 
him? 
150 Your enemies and his find something in him. 
Men. We are all undone, unless 
The noble man have mercy. 

Com. Who shall ask it? 

The tribunes cannot do't for shame ; the people 
155 Deserve such pity of him as the wolf 

Does of the shepherds : for his best friends, if they 
Should say 'Be good to Rome,' they charged 
him even 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 155 

As those should do that had deserved his hate, 
And therein show'd like enemies. 160 

Men. 'Tis true : 

If he were putting to my house the brand 
That should consume it, I have not the face 
To say 'Beseech you, cease.' You have made 

fair hands, 165 

You and your crafts ! you have crafted fair ! 

Com. You have brought 

A trembling upon Rome, such as was never 
So incapable of help. 

Both Tri. Say not, we brought it. 17° 

Men. How ! was it we ? we loved him ; but, 
like beasts 
And cowardly nobles, gave way unto your clusters, 
Who did hoot him out o' the city. 

Com. But I fear 17s 

They'll roar him in again. Tullus Aufidius, 
The second name of men, obeys his points 
As if he were his officer : desperation 
Is all the policy, strength and defence, 
That Rome can make against them. 180 

Enter a troop of citizens. 



156 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Men. Here come the clusters. 

And is Aufidius with him° ? You are they 
That made the air unwholesome, when you cast 
Your stinking greasy caps in hooting at 
185 Coriolanus' exile. Now, he's coming ; 
And not a hair upon a soldier's head 
Which will not prove a whip : as many coxcombs 
As they threw caps up will he tumble down, 
And pay you for your voices. 'Tis no matter; 
190 If he could burn us all into one coal, 
We have deserved it. 

Citizens. Faith, we hear fearful news. 
First Cit. For mine own part, 

When I said, banish him, I said, 'twas pity. 
19s Sec. Cit. And so did I. 

Third Cit. And so did I ; and, to say the truth, 
so did very many of us : that we did, we did for 
the best; and though we willingly consented to 
his banishment, yet it was against our will. 
200 Com. Ye're goodly things, you voices ! 

Men. You have made 

Good work, you and your cry° ! Shall' s to the 
Capitol ? 
Com. O, ay, what else? 

[Exeunt Cominius and Menenius. 



Scene 7.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 157 

Sic. Go, masters, get you home ; be not dis- 205 
may'd : 
These are a side that would be glad to have 
This true which they so seem to fear. Go home, 
And show no sign of fear. 

First Cit. The gods be good to us ! Come, 210 
masters, let's home. I ever said we were i' the 
wrong when we banished him. 

Sec. Cit. So did we all.° But, come, let's 
home. [Exeunt Citizens. 

Bru. I do not like this news. 215 

Sic. Nor I. 

Bru. Let's to the Capitol : would half my 
wealth 
Would buy this for a lie ! 

Sic. Pray, let us go. [Exemit. 220 

Scene VII. 

A camp, a small distance from Rome. 

Enter Aufidius with his Lieutenant. 

Auf. Do they still fly to the Roman ? 
Lieu. I do not know what witchcraft's in him, 
but 



158 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

Your soldiers use him as the grace 'fore meat, 
5 Their talk at table and their thanks at end ; 

And you are darken'd in this action, sir, 

Even by your own.° 

Auf. I cannot help it now, 

Unless, by using means, I lame the foot 
10 Of our design. He bears himself more proudlier, 

Even to my person, than I thought he would 

When first I did embrace him : yet his nature 

In that's no changeling ; and I must excuse 

What cannot be amended. 
15 Lieu. Yet I wish, sir — 

I mean for your particular — you had not 

Join'd in commission with him ; but either 

Had borne the action of yourself, or else 

To him had left it solely. 
20 Auf. I understand thee well ; and be thou sure, 

When he shall come to his account, he knows not 

What I can urge against him.° Although it 
seems, 

And so he thinks, and is no less apparent 
25 To the vulgar eye, that he bears all things fairly, 

And shows good husbandry for the Volscian 
state, 



Scene 7.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 159 

Fights dragon-like, and does achieve as soon 
As draw his sword, yet he hath left undone 
That which shall break his neck or hazard mine, 30 
Whene'er we come to our account. 

Lieu. Sir, I beseech you, think you he'll carry 

Rome? 
Auf. All places yield to him ere he sits down ; 
And the nobility of Rome are his : 35 

The senators and patricians love him too : 
The tribunes are no soldiers ; and their people 
Will be as rash in the repeal, as hasty 
To expel him thence. I think he'll be to Rome 
As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it 40 

By sovereignty of nature. First he was 
A noble servant to them ; but he could not 
Carry his honours even : whether 'twas pride, 
Which out of daily fortune ever taints 
The happy man° ; whether defect of judgment, 4S 
To fail in the disposing of those chances 
Which he was lord of ; or whether nature, 
Not to be other than one thing, not moving 
From the casque to the cushion, but commanding 

peace so 

Even with the same austerity and garb° 



160 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act IV. 

As he controll'd the war ; but one of these — 
As he hath spices of them all, not all,° 
For I dare so far free him — made him fear'd, 
55 So hated, and so banish'd : but he has a merit, 

A 

To choke it in the utterance. So our virtues 

Lie in the interpretation of the time ; 

And power, unto itself most commendable, 

Hath not a tomb so evident as a chair 
60 To extol what it hath done. 

One fire drives out one fire° ; one nail, one nail ; 

Rights by rights fouler, strengths by strengths 
do fail. 

Come, let's away. When, Caius, Rome is thine, 

65 Thou art poor'st of all ; then shortly art thou 

mine. [Exeunt. 



ACT FIFTH. — Scene I. 

Rome. A public place. 

Enter Menenius, Cominius, Sicinius and Bru- 
tus, the two Tribunes, with others. 

Men. No, I'll not go : you hear what he° hath 
said 
Which was sometime his general, who loved him 
In a most dear particular. He call'd me father : 
But what o' that ? Go, you that banish'd him ; s 
A mile before his tent fall down, and knee° 
The way into his mercy : nay, if he coy'd° 
To hear Cominius speak, I'll keep at home. 

Com. He would not seem to know me. 

Men. Do you hear ? 10 

Com. Yet one time he did call me by my 
name : 
I urged our old acquaintance, and the drops 
That we have bled together. Coriolanus 
m 161 



162 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

] 5 He would not answer to : forbad all names ; 
He was a kind of nothing, titleless, 
Till he had forged himself a name o' the fire 
Of burning Rome. 

Men. Why, so : you have made good work ! 
20 A pair of tribunes that have rack'd for Rome, 
To make coals cheap : a noble memory ! 

Com. I minded him how royal 'twas to pardon 
When it was less expected : he replied, 
It was a bare petition of a state 
25 To one whom they had punish'd. 

Men. Very well : 

Could he say less ? 

Com. I offer' d° to awaken his regard 
For's private friends : his answer to me was, 
30 He could not stay to pick them in a pile 
Of noisome musty chaff : he said, 'twas folly, 
For one poor grain or two, to leave unburnt, 
And still to nose° the offence. 

Men. For one poor grain or two ! 

:5 1 am one of those ; his mother, wife, his child, 
And this brave fellow too, we are the grains : 
You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt 
Above the moon : we must be burnt for you. 



Scene 1.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 163 

Sic. Nay, pray, be patient : if you refuse your 
aid 4° 

In this so never-needed help, yet do not 
Upbraid's with our distress. But sure, if you 
Would be your country's pleader, your good 

tongue, 
More than the instant army we can make, 45 

Might stop our countryman. 

Men. No, I'll not meddle. 

Sic. Pray you, go to him. 

Men. What should I do ? 

Bru. Only make trial what your love can do 50 
For Rome, towards Marcius. 

Men. Well, and say that Marcius 

Return me, as Cominius is return'd, 
Unheard ; what then ? 

But as a discontented friend, grief-shot° 55 

With his unkindness ? say't be so ? 

Sic. Yet your good will 

Must have that thanks from Rome, after the 

measure 
As you intended well. 60 

Men. I'll undertake't : 

I think he'll hear me. Yet, to bite his lip 



164 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

And hum° at good Cominius, much unhearts me. 
He was not taken well ; he had not dined : 
65 The veins unfill'd, our blood is cold, and then 
We pout upon the morning, are unapt 
To give or to forgive ; but when we have stuff'd 
These pipes and these conveyances of our blood 
With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls 
70 Than in our priest-like fasts : therefore I'll watch 
him 
Till he be dieted to my request, 
And then I'll set upon him. 

Bru. You know the very road into his kind- 
75 ness, 

And cannot lose your way. 

Men. Good faith, I'll prove him, 

Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowl- 
edge 
8o Of my success. [Exit. 

Com. He'll never hear him. 

Sic. Not? 

Com. I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye 
Red as 'twould burn Rome ; and his injury 
85 The gaoler to his pity. I kneel'd before him ; 
'Twas very faintly he said ' Rise ; ' dismiss'd me 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 165 

Thus, with his speechless hand : what he would 

do, 
He sent in writing after me ; what he would not, 
Bound with an oath to yield to his conditions :° 90 
So that all hope is vain, 
Unless his noble mother, and his wife ; 
Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him 
For mercy to his country. Therefore, let's hence, 
And with our fair entreaties haste them on. 95 

[Exeunt. 



Scene II. 

Entrance to the Volscian camp before Rome. 

Two Sentinels on guard. 

Enter to them, Menenius. 

First Sen. Stay : whence are you-? 

Sec. Sen.* Stand, and go back. 

Men. You guard like men ; 'tis well : but, by 
your leave, 
I am an officer of state, and come 5 

To speak with Coriolanus. 



166 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

First Sen. From whence ? 

Men. From Rome. 

First Sen. You may not pass, you must re- 
10 turn : our general 

Will no more hear from thence. 

Sec. Sen. You'll see your Rome embraced with 
fire, before 
You'll speak with Coriolanus. 
15 Men. Good my friends, 

If you have heard your general talk of Rome, 
And of his friends there, it is lots to blanks 
My name hath touch'd your ears : it is Menenius. 
First Sen. Be it so ; go back : the virtue of 
20 your name 

Is not here passable. 

Men. I tell thee, fellow, 

Thy general is my lover : I have been 
The book of his good acts, whence men have read 
25 His fame unparallel'd haply amplified ; 
For I have ever verified my friends, * 
Of whom he's chief, with all the size that verity 
Would without lapsing suffer : nay, sometimes, 
Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground, 
30 1 have tumbled past the throw, and in his praise 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 167 

Have almost stamp'd the leasing : therefore, 

fellow, 
I must have leave to pass. 

First Sen. Faith, sir, if you had told as many 
lies in his behalf as you have uttered words in your 35 
own, you should not pass here ; no, though it 
were as virtuous to lie as to live chastely. There- 
fore go back. 

Men. Prithee, fellow, remember my name is 
Menenius, always factionary on the party of your 4° 
general. 

Sec. Sen. Howsoever you have been his liar, 
as you say you have, I am one that, telling true 
under him, must say, you cannot pass. There- 
fore go back. 45 

Men. Has he dined, canst thou tell? for I 
would not speak with him till after dinner. 

First Sen. You are a Roman, are you ? 

Men. I am, as thy general is. 

First Sen. Then you should hate Rome, as he 50 
does. Can you, when you have pushed out your 
gates the very defender of them, and, in a violent 
popular ignorance, given your enemy your shield, 
think to front his revenges with the easy groans 



168 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

55 of old women, the virginal palms of your daugh- 
ters, or with the palsied intercession of such a 
decayed dotant as you seem to be? Can you 
think to blow out the intended fire your city is 
ready to flame in, with such weak breath as this ? 
60 No, you are deceived ; therefore, back to Rome, 
and prepare for your execution : you are con- 
demned ; our general has sworn you out of re- 
prieve and pardon. 

Men. Sirrah, if thy captain knew I were here, 
65 he would use me with estimation. 

First Sen. Come, my captain knows you not. 
Men. I mean, thy general. 
First Sen. My general cares not for you. 
Back, I say, go; lest I let forth your half-pint° 
70 of blood ; — back, — that's the utmost of your 
having : — back. 

Men. Nay, but, fellow, fellow, — ■ 

Enter Coriolanus and Aufidius. 

Cor. What's the matter ? 

Men. Now, you companion, I'll say an 

75 errand for you : you shall know now that I am 

in estimation ; you shall perceive that a Jack 



Scene 2.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 169 

guardant cannot office me° from my son Corio- 
lanus : guess, but by my entertainment with 
him, if thou standest not i' the state of hanging, 
or of some death more long in spectatorship and 80 
crueller in suffering; behold now presently, and 
swoon for what's to come upon thee. The 
glorious gods sit in hourly synod about thy 
particular prosperity, and love thee no worse 
than thy old father Menenius does ! O my son, 85 
my son ! thou art preparing fire for us ; look thee, 
here's water to quench it. I was hardly moved 
to come to thee ; but being assured none but my- 
self could move thee, I have been blown out of 
your gates with sighs; and conjure thee to par- 93 
don Rome and thy petitionary countrymen. The 
good gods assuage thy wrath, and turn the dregs 
of it upon this varlet here, — this, who, like a 
block, hath denied my access to thee. 

Cor. Away ! 95 

Men. How ! away ! 

Cor. Wife, mother, child, I know not. My 
affairs 
Are servanted to others : though I owe 
My revenge properly, my remission lies 10c 



170 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

In Volscian breasts. That we have been familiar, 
Ingrate forgetfulness shall poison rather 
Than pity note how much. Therefore be gone. 
Mine ears against your suits are stronger than 
1 35 Your gates against my force. Yet, for I loved 
thee, 
Take this along ; I writ it for thy sake, 
And would have sent it. [Gives him a letter.] 

Another word, Menenius, 
11 3 1 will not hear thee speak. This man, Aufidius, 
Was my beloved in Rome : yet thou behold'st. 
Auf. You keep a constant temper. 

[Exeunt Coriolanus and Aufidius. 
First Sen. Now, sir, is your name Menenius ? 
Sec. Sen. 'Tis a spell, you see, of much power : 
115 you know the way home again. 

First Sen. Do you hear how we are shent° for 
keeping your greatness back ? 

Sec. Sen. What cause, do you think, I have to 
swoon ? 
120 Men. I neither care for the world nor your 
general : for such things as you, I can scarce 
think there's any, ye're so slight. He that hath 
a will to die by himself fears it not from another : 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 171 



i 



let your general do his worst. For you, be that 
you are, long; and your misery increase withes 
your age ! I say to you as I was said to, away ! 

[Exit. 

First Sen. A noble fellow, I warrant him. 
Sec. Sen. The worthy fellow is our general : 
he's the rock, the oak not to be wind-shaken. 

[Exeunt. 

Scene III. 
The tent of Coriolanus. 

Enter Coriolanus, Aufidius, and others. 

Cor. We will before the walls of Rome to- 
morrow 
Set down our host. My partner in this action, 
You must report to the Volscian lords how plainly 
I have borne this business. 5 

Auf. Only their ends 

You have respected ; stopp'd your ears against 
The general suit of Rome ; never admitted 
A private whisper, no, not with such friends 
That thought them sure of you. IO 



172 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

Cor. This last old man, 

Whom with a crack' d heart I have sent to Rome, 
Loved me above the measure of a father, 
Nay, godded me indeed. Their latest refuge 

15 Was to send him ; for whose old love I have, 
Though I show'd sourly to him, once more offer'd 
The first conditions, which they did refuse 
And cannot now accept ; to grace him° only 
That thought he could do more, a very little 

20 I have yielded to : fresh embassies and suits, 
Nor from the state nor private friends, hereafter 
Will I lend ear to. [Shout within.] Ha ! what 

shout is this ? 
Shall I be tempted to infringe my vow 

25 In the same time 'tis made ? I will not. 

Enter in mourning habits, Virgilia, Volumnia 
leading young Marcius, Valeria, and Attend- 
ants. 

My wife comes foremost; then the honour'd 

mould 
Wherein this trunk was framed, and in her hand 
The grandchild to 'her blood. But out, affection ! 
30 All bond and privilege of nature, break ! 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 173 

Let it be virtuous to be obstinate. 

What is that curtsy worth? or those doves' eyes, 

Which can make gods forsworn ? I melt, and am 

not 
Of stronger earth than others. My mother bows ; 35 
As if Olympus to a molehill should 
In supplication nod : and my young boy 
Hath an aspect of intercession, which 
Great nature cries 'Deny not.' Let the Volsces 
Plough Rome, and harrow Italy : I'll never 40 

Be such a gosling to obey instinct ; but stand, 
As if a man were author of himself 
And knew no other kin. 

Vir. My lord and husband ! 

Cor. These eyes are not the same I wore in 45 
Rome. 

Vir. The sorrow that delivers us thus changed 
Makes you think so. 

Cor. Like a dull actor now 

I have forgot my part and I am out,° 5° 

Even to a full disgrace. Best of my flesh, 
Forgive my tyranny ; but do not say, 
For that 'Forgive our Romans.' O, a kiss 
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge ! 



174 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

55 Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss 
I carried from thee, dear, and my true lip 
Hath virgin'd it° e'er since. You gods ! I prate, 
And the most noble mother of the world 
Leave unsaluted : sink, my knee, i' the earth ; 

[Kneels. 
60 Of thy deep duty more impression show 
Than that of common sons. 

Vol. O, stand up blest ! 

Whilst, with no softer cushion than the flint, 
I kneel before thee, and unproperly 
65 Show duty, as mistaken all this while 

Between the child and parent. [Kneels. 

Cor. What is this ? 

Your knees to me ? to your corrected son ? 
Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach 
70 Fillip the stars ; then let the mutinous winds 
Strike the proud cedars 'gainst the fiery sun, 
Murdering impossibility, to make 
W T hat cannot be, slight work. 

Vol. Thou art my warrior ; 

75 1 holp to frame thee. Do you know this lady ? 
Cor. The noble sister of Publicola, 
The moon of Rome ; chaste as the icicle 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 175 

That's curdied by the frost from purest snow 
And hangs on Dian's temple : dear Valeria ! 

Vol. This is a poor epitome of yours, 80 

Which by the interpretation of full time 
May show like all yourself. 

Cor. The god of soldiers, 

With the consent of supreme Jove, inform 
Thy thoughts with nobleness, that thou mayst8s 

prove 
To shame unvulnerable, and stick i' the wars 
Like a great sea-mark, ° standing every flaw 
And saving those that eye thee ! 

Vol. Your knee,° sirrah. 90 

Cor. That's my brave boy ! 

Vol. Even he, your wife, this lady and myself 
Are suitors to you. 

Cor. I beseech you, peace : 

Or, if you'ld ask, remember this before : 95 

The thing I have forsworn to grant may never 
Be held by you denials. Do not bid me 
Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate 
Again with Rome's mechanics : tell me not 
Wherein I seem unnatural : desire not 10c 

To allay my rages and revenges with 



176 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

Your colder reasons. 

Vol. 0, no more, no more ! 

You have said you will not grant us any thing ; 
105 For we have nothing else to ask, but that 
Which you deny already : yet we will ask ; 
That, if you fail in° our request, the blame 
May hang upon your hardness : therefore hear us. 
Cor. Aufidius, and you Volsces, mark; for 
no we'll 

Hear nought from Rome in private. Your 
request ? 
Vol. Should we be silent and not speak, our 
raiment 
us And state of bodies would bewray what life 
We have led since thy exile. Think with thyself 
How more unfortunate than all living women 
Are we come hither : since that thy sight, which 
should 
120 Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with 
comforts, 
Constrains them weep and shake with fear and 

sorrow ; 
Making the mother, wife and child, to see 
125 The son, the husband and the father, tearing 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 177 

His country's bowels out. And to poor we 

Thine enmity's most capital : thou b air's t us 

Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort 

That all but we enjoy ; for how can we, 

x\las, how can we for our country pray, 130 

Whereto we are bound, together with thy victory, 

Whereto we are bound ? alack, or we must lose 

The country, our dear nurse, or else thy person, 

Our comfort in the country. We must find 

An evident calamity, though we had 13s 

Our wish, which side should win ; for either thou 

Must, as a foreign recreant, be led 

With manacles through our streets, or else 

Triumphantly tread on thy country's ruin, 

And bear the palm° for having bravely shed 140 

Thy wife and children's blood. For myself, son, 

I purpose not to wait on fortune till 

These wars determine : if I cannot persuade thee 

Rather to show a noble grace to both parts 

Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no sooner 145 

March to assault thy country than to tread — 

Trust to't, thou shalt not — on thy mother's 

womb, 
That brought thee to this world. 

N 



178 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

150 Vir. Ay, and mine, 

That brought you forth this boy, to keep your 

name 
Living to time. 

Boy. A' shall not tread on me ; 

155 I'll run away till I am bigger, but then I'll fight. 
Cor. Not of a woman's tenderness to be, 
Requires nor child nor woman's face to see. 
I have sat too long. . [Rising. 

Vol. Nay, go not from us thus. 

16 -j If it were so that our request did tend 
To save the Romans, thereby to destroy 
The Volsces whom you serve, you might con- 
demn us, 
As poisonous of your honour : no ; our suit 
165 Is, that you reconcile them : while the Volsces 
May say 'This mercy we have show'd,' the 

Romans, 
' This we received ; ' and each in either side 
Give the all-hail to thee, and cry 'Be blest 
170 For making up this peace!' Thou know'st, 
great son, 
The end of war's uncertain, but this certain, 
That if thou conquer Rome, the benefit 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 179 

Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name 

Whose repetition will be dogg'd with curses ; 175 

Whose chronicle thus writ : ' The man was noble, 

But with his last attempt he wiped it out, 

Destroy'd his country, and his name remains 

To the ensuing age abhorr'd.' Speak to me, son : 

Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour, 180 

To imitate the graces of the gods ; 

To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o' the air, 

And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt 

That should but rive an oak. Why dost not 

speak ? x85 

Think'st thou it honourable for a noble man 
Still to remember wrongs ? Daughter, speak you : 
He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy : 
Perhaps thy childishness will move him more 
Than can our reasons. There's no man in the 190 

world 
More bound to's mother, yet here he lets me prate 
Like one i' the stocks. Thou hast never in thy 

life 
Show'd thy dear mother any courtesy ; 195 

When she, poor hen, fond of no second brood, 
Has cluck'd thee to the wars, and safely home, 



180 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

Loaden with honour. Say my request's unjust, 
And spurn me back : but if it be not so, 

200 Thou art not honest, and the gods will plague 
thee, 
That thou restrain'st from me the duty which 
To a mother's part belongs. He turns away : 
Down, ladies ; let us shame him with our knees. 

205 To his surname Coriolanus 'longs more pride 
Than pity to our prayers. Down : an end ; 
This is the last : so we will home to Rome, 
And die among our neighbours. Nay, behold's : 
This boy, that cannot tell what he would have, 

210 But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship, 
Does reason our petition with more strength 
Than thou hast to deny't. Come, let us go : 
This fellow had a Volscian to° his mother ; 
His wife is in Corioli, and his child 

215 Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch : 
I am hush'd until our city be a-fire, 
And then I'll speak a little. 

Cor. [After holding her by the hand, silent] O 
mother, mother ! 

220 What have you done? Behold, the heavens do 
ope, 



Scene 3.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 181 

The gods look down, and this unnatural scene 

They laugh at. O my mother, mother ! O ! 

You have won a happy victory to Rome ; 

But, for your son, believe it, O, believe it, 225 

Most dangerously you have with him prevail'd, 

If not most mortal to him. But let it come. 

Aufidius, though I cannot make true wars, 

I'll frame convenient peace. Now, good Aufidius, 

Were you in my stead, would you have heard 230 

A mother less ? or granted less, Aufidius ? 

Auf. I was moved withal. 

Cor. I dare be sworn you were : 

And, sir, it is no little thing to make 
Mine eyes to sweat compassion. But, good sir, 235 
What peace you'll make, advise me : for my 

part, 
I'll not to Rome, I'll back with you; and pray 

you, 
Stand to me in this cause. O mother ! wife ! 240 

Auf. [Aside] I am glad thou hast set thy 
mercy and thy honour 
At difference in thee : out of that I'll work 
Myself a former fortune. 

[The ladies make signs to Coriolanus. 



182 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

245 Cor. [To Volumnia, Virgilia, &c.\ Ay, by 
and by : — 
But we will drink together ; and you shall bear 
A better witness back than words, which we 
On like conditions will have counter-seal'd. 

250 Come, enter with us. Ladies, you deserve 
To have a temple built you : all the swords 
In Italy, and her confederate arms, 
Could not have made this peace. [Exeunt. 

Scene IV. 
Rome. A public place. 

Enter Menenius and Sicinius. 

Men. See you yond coign o' the Capitol, yond 
corner-stone ? 

Sic. Why, what of that ? 

Men. If it be possible for you to displace it 
5 with your little finger, there is some hope the 
ladies of Rome, especially his mother, may pre- 
vail with him. But I say there is no hope in't : 
our throats are sentenced, and stay upon ex- 
ecution. '" 



Scene 4.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 183 

Sic. Is't possible that so short a time can alter ic 
the condition of a man? 

Men. There is differency between a grub and 
a butterfly ; yet your butterfly was a grub. This 
Marcius is grown from man to dragon : he has 
wings ; he's more than a creeping thing. 15 

Sic. He loved his mother dearly. 

Men. So did he me : and he no more remem- 
bers his mother now than an eight-year-old horse. 
The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes : when 
he walks, he moves like an engine, and the 20 
ground shrinks before his treading : he is able to 
pierce a corslet with his eye ; talks like a knell, 
and his hum is a battery. He sits in his state, 
a3 a thing made for° iUexander. What he bids 
be done, is finished with his bidding. He wants 25 
nothing of a god° but eternity and a heaven to 
throne in. 

Sic. Yes, mercy, if you report him truly. 

Men. I paint him in the character. Mark 
what mercy his mother shall bring from him : 30 
there is no more mercy in him than there is milk 
in a male tiger ; that shall our poor city find : and 
all this is long of° you. 



184 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

Sic. The gods be good unto us ! 
35 Men. No, in such a case the gods will not be 
good unto us. When we banished him, we 
respected not them ; and, he returning to break 
our necks, they respect not us. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Mess. Sir, if you'ld save your life, fly to your 
40 house : 

The plebeians have got your fellow-tribune, 
And hale° him up and down, all swearing, if 
The Roman ladies bring not comfort home, 
They'll give him death by inches. 

Enter another Messenger. 

45 Sic. What's the news ? 

Sec. Mess. Good news, good news ; the ladies 
have prevail'd, 
The Volscians are dislodged, and Marcius gone : 
A merrier day did never yet greet Rome, 
50 No, not the expulsion of the Tarquins. 

Sic. Friend, 

Art thou certain this is true ? is it most certain ? 
Sec. Mess. As certain as I know the sun is fire : 



Scene 4.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 185 
Where have you lurk'd, that you make doubt of 

it? 55 

Ne'er through an arch so hurried the blown tide, 
As the recomforted through the gates. Why, 
hark you ! 

[Trumpets; hautboys ; drums beat; all together. 
The trumpets, sackbuts , psalteries , and fifes, 
Tabors and cymbals and the shouting Romans, 6o 
Make the sun dance. Hark you ! 

[A shout within. 
Men. This is good news : 

I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia 
Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians, 
A city full ; of tribunes, such as you, 65 

A sea and land full. You have pray'd well to- 
day : 
This morning for ten thousand of your throats 
I'ld not have given a doit. Hark, how they joy ! 

[Music still, with shouts. 
Sic. First, the gods bless you for your tidings ; 70 
next, 
Accept my thankfulness. 

Sec. Mess. Sir, we have all 

Great cause to give great thanks. 



186 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

75 Sic. They are near the city? 

Sec. Mess. Almost at point to enter. 
Sic. We will meet them, 

And help the joy. [Exeunt. 



Scene V. 

The same. A street near the gate. 

Enter two Senators with Volumnia, Virgilia, 
Valeria, &c. passing over the stage, followed by 
Patricians and others. 

First Sen. Behold our patroness, the life of 
Rome ! 
Call all your tribes together, praise the gods, 
And make triumphant fires ; strew flowers before 
s them : 

Unshout the noise that banish'd Marcius, 
Repeal him with the welcome of his mother ; 
Cry 'Welcome, ladies, welcome !' 

All. Welcome, ladies, 

io Welcome ! 

[A flourish with drums and trumpets. Exeunt. 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 187 

Scene VI. 

Corioli. A public place. 

Enter Tullus Aufidius, with Attendants. 

Auf. Go tell the lords o' the city I am here : 
Deliver them this paper : having read it, 
Bid them repair to the market-place, where I, 
Even in theirs and in the commons' ears, 
Will vouch the truth of it. Him° I accuse 
The city ports by this hath enter'd, and 
Intends to appear before the people, hoping 
To purge himself with words : dispatch. 

[Exeunt Attendants. 

Enter three or four Conspirators of Aufidius' 
faction. 

Most welcome ! 

First Con. How is it with our general ? 

Auf. Even so 

As with a man by his own alms empoison'd, 
And with his charity slain. 

Sec. Con. Most noble sir, 

If you do hold the same intent wherein 15 



10 



188 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

You wish'd us parties, we'll deliver you 
Of your great danger. 

Auf. Sir, I cannot tell : 

We must proceed as we do find the people. 
20 Third Con. The people will remain uncertain 
whilst 
'Twixt you there's difference ; but the fall of 

either 
Makes the survivor heir of all. 
25 Auf. I know it, 

And my pretext to strike at him admits 
A good construction. I raised him, and I 

pawn'd 
Mine honour for his truth : who being so height- 
30 en'd, 

He water 'd his new plants with dews of flattery, 
Seducing so my friends ; and, to this end, 
He bow'd his nature, never known before 
But to be rough, unswayable and free. 
35 Third Con. Sir, his stoutness 

When he did stand for consul, which he lost 
By lack of stooping, — 

Auf. That I would have spoke of : 

Being banish'd for't, he came unto my hearth ; 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 189 

Presented to my knife his throat : I took him, 40 

Made him joint-servant with me, gave him way 

In all his own desires, nay, let him choose 

Out of my files, his projects to accomplish, 

My best and freshest men, served his designments 

In mine own person, holp to reap the fame 45 

Which he did end° all his ; and took some pride 

To do myself this wrong : till at the last 

I seem'd his follower, not partner, and 

He waged me° with his countenance, as if 

I had been mercenary. 50 

First Con. So he did, my lord : 

The army marvell'd at it, and in the last 
When he had carried Rome and that we look'd 
For no less spoil than glory — 

Auf. There was it : 55 

For which my sinews shall be stretch'd upon 

him. 
At a few drops of women's rheum, which are 
As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labour 
Of our great action : therefore shall he die, 60 

And I'll renew me in his fall. But hark ! 
[Drums and trumpets sound, with great shouts of the 

people. 



190 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

First Con. Your native town you enter'd like 
a post, 
And had no welcomes home ; but he returns, 
65 Splitting the air with noise. 

Sec. Con. And patient fools, 

Whose children he hath slain, their base throats 

tear 
With giving him glory. 
70 Third Con. Therefore, at your vantage, 

Ere he express himself, or move the people 
With what he would say, let him feel your sword, 
Which we will second. When he lies along, 
After your way° his tale pronounced shall bury 
75 His reasons with his body. 

Auf. Say no more : 

Here come the lords. 

Enter the Lords of the city. 

All the Lords. You are most welcome home. 
Auf. I have not deserved it. 

8o But, worthy lords, have you with heed perused 
What I have written to you ? 
Lords. We have. 

First Lord. And grieve to hear't. 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 191 

What faults he made before the last, I think 
Might have found easy fines : but there to end 85 
Where he was to begin, and give away 
The benefit of our levies, answering us 
With our own charge, making a treaty where 
There was a yielding, — this admits no excuse. 
Auf. He approaches : you shall hear him. 93 

Enter Coriolanus, marching with drum and 
colours; the commoners being with him. 

Cor. Hail, lords !° I am return'd your soldier ; 
No more infected with my country's love 
Than when I parted hence, but still subsisting 
Under your great command. You are to know, 
That prosperously I have attempted, and 95 

With bloody passage led your wars even to 
The gates of Rome. Our spoils we have brought 

home 
Do more than counterpoise a full third part 
The charges of the action. We have made peace, ioo 
With no less honour to the Antiates 
Than shame to the Romans : and we here deliver, 
Subscribed by the consuls and patricians, 
Together with the seal o' the senate, what 



192 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

105 We have compounded on.° 

Auf. Read it not, noble lords ; 

But tell the traitor, in the highest degree 
He hath abused your powers. 
Cor. Traitor ! how now ! 
no Auf. Ay, traitor, Marcius ! 

Cor. Marcius i 

Auf. Ay, Marcius, Caius Marcius : dost thou 
think 
I'll grace thee with that robbery, thy stol'n name 
115 Coriolanus, in Corioli? 

You lords and heads o' the state, perfidiously 
He has betray'd your business, and given up, 
For certain drops of salt, your city Rome, 
I say 'your city,' to his wife and mother; 
120 Breaking his oath and resolution, like 
A twist of rotten silk ; never admitting 
Counsel o' the war° ; but at his nurse's tears 
He whined and roar'd away your victory ; 
That pages blush'd at him, and men of heart 
125 Look'd wondering each at other. 

Cor. Hear'st thou, Mars ? 

Auf. Name not the god, thou boy of tears ! 
Cor. Ha ! 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 193 

Auf. No more. 

Cor. Measureless liar, thou hast made my 130 
heart 
Too great for what contains it. ' Boy ! ' O slave ! 
Pardon me, lords, 'tis the first time that ever 
I was forced to scold. Your judgments, my grave 

lords, 135 

Must give this cur the lie : and his own notion — 
Who wears my stripes impress'd upon him ; that 
Must bear my beating to his grave — shall join 
To thrust the lie unto him. 

First Lord. Peace, both, and hear me speak. 140 

Cor. Cut me to pieces, Volsces ; men and 
lads, 
Stain all your edges on me. ' Boy ! ' false hound ! 
If you have writ your annals true, 'tis there, 
That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I 145 

Flutter' d your Volscians in Corioli ; 
Alone I did it. 'Boy!' 

Auf. Why, noble lords, 

Will you be put in mind of his blind fortune, 
Which was your shame, by this unholy braggart, 150 
'Fore your own eyes and ears ? 

All Consp. Let him die for't. 



194 THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS [Act V. 

All the People. 'Tear him to pieces.' 'Do it 
presently.' 'He killed my son.' 'My daugh- 
155 ter.' ' He killed my cousin Marcus.' ' He killed 
my father.' 

Sec. Lord. Peace, ho ! no outrage : peace ! 
The man is noble, and his fame folds-in° 
This orb o' the earth. His last offences to us 
l6o Shall have judicious hearing. Stand, Aufidius, 
And trouble not the peace. 

Cor. O that I had him, 

With six Aufidiuses, or more, his tribe, 
To use my lawful sword ! 
1 65 Auf. Insolent villain ! 

All Consp. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill him ! 

[ The Conspirators draw, and kill Coriolanus : 
Aufidius stands on his body. 
Lords. Hold, hold, hold, hold ! 

Auf. My noble masters, hear me speak. 
First Lord. O Tullus, — 

iyo Sec. Lord. Thou hast done a deed whereat 
valour will weep. 
Third Lord, Tread not upon him. Masters 
all, be quiet ; 
Put up your swords. 



Scene 6.] THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS 195 

Auf. My lords, when you shall know — as in 17s 
this rage 
Provoked by him, you cannot — the great danger 
Which this man's life did owe° you, you'll rejoice 
That he is thus cut off. Please it your honours 
To call me to your senate, I'll deliver 180 

Myself your loyal servant, or endure 
Your heaviest censure. 

First Lord. Bear from hence his body ; 

And mourn you for him : let him be regarded 
As the most noble corse that ever herald 185 

Did follow to his urn. 

Sec. Lord. His own impatience 

Takes from Aufidius a great part of blame. 
Let's make the best of it. 

Auf. My rage is gone, 190 

And I am struck with sorrow. Take him up : 
Help, three o' the chief est soldiers ; I'll be one. 
Beat thou the drum, that it speak mournfully : 
Trail your steel pikes. Though in this city he 
Hath widow'd and unchilded many a one, 195 

Which to this hour bewail the injury, 
Yet he shall have a noble memory. 
Assist. [Exeunt, bearing the body of Coriolanus. 

A dead march sounded. 



NOTES 

EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL 

The text of this edition follows in the main that used 
in the Temple Edition. Since the numbering of the 
lines would in any case vary from other editions in the 
prose portions of the text, on account of type and 
length of line differences ; and since the inequalities of 
the poetic lines of the text as we have it suggest varia- 
tions, the convenience of the pupil has been consid- 
ered in the line numbering rather than conformity to 
previous editions. 

Act I. 

As our chief interest lies in the personality of Corio- 
lanus, Shakespeare devotes the first act to portraying 
the heroic qualities of the leading character. We see 
the hero as an intrepid warrior, who saves his city when 
it is attacked by foreign toes, and who then unselfishly 
refuses to share in the spoils of the victory. We learn 
that he regards himself as a man of the highest sense of 
honor, that he is self-sacrificing in his devotion to the 
state, and that he shows the most " high-bred courtesv" 

197 



198 NOTES [Act I. 

towards his own class, the patrician. On the other 
hand, in order that we may see him in his true great- 
ness, the defects and weaknesses in his character are 
barely hinted at in this act. This is necessary so that 
his eventual fall may be more deeply tragic. 

Scene I. 

This scene, and the two following, are introductory. 
They acquaint us with "conditions precedent" to the 
action of the play, introduce the leading characters, 
and lead up to the ascending action of the play. 

The first scene sets forth the political unrest in Rome, 
which arose from the growing friction between the 
patricians and the plebeians. In this antagonism lie 
the seeds of eventual danger to the city, unless the two 
parties can be reconciled. Coriolanus, as a leader 
among the patricians, is not likely to achieve this much- 
to-be-desired result, for the rabble regards him as 
" chief enemy to the people." At the same time, the 
leaders of the plebeians, the tribunes, are selfish, narrow- 
minded men, who, likewise, have hardly any of the 
qualities necessary to statesmanship or successful 
government. Consequently, it becomes evident at 
once that misunderstandings will arise, which will lead 
to conflict between the two parties, more especially be- 
tween Coriolanus and the tribunes. While the struggle 
between the two parties is the more important his- 
torically, the supreme struggle between Coriolanus 
and his fate is the more important dramatically. The 



Scene I.] NOTES 199 

class struggle should, therefore, be considered only as 
a background for this drama of the soul. 

8. Chief enemy. In this opinion lies the chief 
interest, and therefore the dramatist states it at once. 
The First Citizen is opposed to Coriolanus throughout 
the play and easily persuades the rabble to look at the 
situation from his viewpoint. Notice, also, that here, as 
in others of his great tragedies, Shakespeare directs our 
attention to the central figure before the latter enters. 

10. Corn. The dearth of corn is given as the chief 
reason for the unrest of the plebeians although Plutarch 
mentions two seditions, one on account of the oppres- 
sion of usurers, and another because of the shortage 
of corn. The former is merely hinted at in 11. 90-91 
of this scene. The second, which occurred after the 
war with Corioli, resulted in the distribution of corn 
to the plebeians. This action was opposed by Coriola- 
nus, a fact which is referred to in Act III, Scene i, 
11. 65-68. 

16. Good. Used in the sense of rich. Note the play 
on the word. Authority. Those in authority. 

21. Object. Sight, spectacle. 

22. Particularize. Emphasize, point out in detail. 
Sufferance. Suffering. 

Lines 17-22 may be paraphrased as follows : ." They 
will not give us, even of their superfluity, for we are 
too precious to them as we are ; our poverty, and the 
sight of our misery, enable them, by contrast, to realize 
their own happiness in detail." 



200 NOTES [Act I. 

24. Pikes. Lances or spears in one sense, pitch- 
forks in the other. Note the play on words in "pikes " 
and "rakes." A well-known proverb was, "As lean as 
a rake." 

27. Observe that the Second Citizen is always in- 
clined to be charitable towards Coriolanus and does 
not share the animosity of the First Citizen. 

29. Dog. Lacking in pity, brutal, cruel. 

30. Commonalty. The plebeians. 

34. Give him good report. " Speak well of him." 

40. To please his mother. " But touching Martius, 
the only thing that made him to love honour, was the 
joy he saw his mother did take of him. For he thought 
nothing made him so happy and honourable, as that 
his mother might hear everybody praise and commend 
him, that she might always see him with a crown upon 
his head, and that she might still embrace him with 
tears running down her cheeks for joy." — Plutarch. 

41. To be partly proud. Partly to be proud. 
Other examples of such transposition are common in 
Shakespeare. 

42. Virtue. Courage, valor. Plutarch says, " Now 
in those days valiantness was honoured in Rome above 
all other virtues : which they call virtus, by the name of 
virtue itself , as including . . . all other virtues besides." 

45. Covetous. Compare this statement with the 
magnanimity of Coriolanus in Act I, Sc. ix, 11. 46-50, 
and his contempt for those who prefer pillage to fight- 
ing in Act I, Sc. v, 11. 5-12. 



Scene I.] NOTES 201 

, 48. Repetition. Mention, utterance. 

50. Capitol. " The temple of Jupiter Optimus Maxi- 
mus, on the Capitoline Hill, where the Senate is repre- 
sented as being assembled." 

54. Loved the people. Menenius is a clever, good- 
natured patrician who is popular with the people be- 
cause of his affable manner. His sincerity is question- 
able, but the rabble considers him a true friend. When 
the plebeians seceded, Plutarch says that the Senate 
sent as emissaries to treat with them " certain of the 
pleasantest old men, and the most acceptable to the 
people among them. Of these Menenius Agrippa was 
he who was sent for chief man of the message from the 
Senate." 

59. Bats. Heavy sticks. 

61. The Folios gave this and the succeeding speeches 
to the Second Citizen. Most modern editors have 
made the change used here because the First Citizen 
has been the leader in the attacks on Coriolanus and 
the patricians. 

65. Strong breaths. Strong-smelling breaths. 
Shakespeare often refers to the foul breath of the 
common people. In Julius Ccesar, Cassius says, " The 
rabblement hooted, . . . and uttered such a deal of 
stinking breath." 

79. Impediment. " Hindrance on your part." 

81. Your knees, etc. " You must fall on your knees 
and pray to the gods for help rather than bear arms 
against the state." 



202 NOTES [Act I. 

84. Thither . . . you. "To excesses which fresh 
sufferings must expiate." 

85. Helms. Helmsmen, i.e. the patricians. 

91. Usurers. " There grew sedition in the city, 
because the Senate did favour the rich against the 
people, who did complain of the sore oppression of 
usurers, of whom they borrowed money." — Plutarch. 
Cf. note on 1. 10. 

101. Stale't a little more. Make it more stale. 
The use of an adjective as a verb. 

103. Fob off. To put aside by deceit or trickery. 

110. Still cupboarding the viand. Continually 
storing up food as if putting it into a cupboard. 

111. Where. Whereas. Often used in this sense. 

114. Mutually participate. Participating in each 
other's functions. 

115. Affection. Inclination, desire. 

118. What answer, etc. The interest shown, even 
by the First Citizen, in this fable proves that Menenius 
knew how to obtain a hearing from the lower classes. 
He is not in sympathy with them, but instead of openly 
declaring so, he attempts by a homely illustration to 
convince them of the error of their ways, and thus con- 
ciliate them. He believes in compromise, and flatters 
himself on his cleverness in meeting such a situation as 
that which now confronts him. 

121. Lungs. In Shakespeare's day, the functions 
of the various organs of the body were not understood 
as well as they are to-day, and consequently many of the 



Scene I.] 



NOTES 203 



functions ascribed to various organs by the characters 
in " Coriolanus " will seem absurd to the modern student. 
We must bear in mind, however, that medical science 
was still largely a matter of guesswork, and numerous 
false theories of the ancients were accepted almost 
without question. Surgery in England was still in its 
infancy in Elizabethan days and consisted largely of 
blood-letting by "leeches" and barbers. Towards the 
close of the sixteenth century, physicians began to 
study the "subject" rather than books and began to 
make strides towards disproving many accepted theories 
of bodily functions. Perhaps the most important of 
these was the discovery of the circulation of the blood 
by William Harvey, which was fully demonstrated 
by him in a lecture given before the College of Physi- 
cians just a week before Shakespeare's death. 

It is well to remember that Shakespeare's son-in- 
law, Dr. Hall, was a famous physician, and, therefore, 
he may have obtained much of his medical knowledge 
from the latter. He seems to accept the theory that 
the heart is the source of the supply of the blood 
(I, i, 159), and that the veins are filled by nourishment 
directly (V, i, 65-70). He also holds to the concep- 
tion of the lungs as the seat of merriment (I, i, 121), an 
idea that is more fully expressed in As You Like It, 
II, vii, 30, where Jacques says, "My lungs began to 
crow like chanticleer," etc. 

Throughout his plays, Shakespeare uses the word 
"nerves" to mean sinews and shows that the functions 



204 NOTES [Act I. 

of the nervous system were entirely unknown to him. 
In fact, in Act I, Sc. i, 1. 159, we might assume that 
he thought that "the seat of the brain" was in the 
heart. This supposition seems to be supported by 
the expression "the counsellor heart" (I, i, 131), but 
some editors have come to the conclusion that Shake- 
speare considered the heart as the seat of the emotions 
and "the kingly-crowned head" as the seat of reason. 
This idea is still quite prevalent in many everyday 
expressions and has not been entirely discarded by 
modern writers even though medical science has re- 
jected it. Lines 186-187 in Sc. i of Act III seem 
to lend additional support to the belief that he con- 
sidered the "bosom" as the seat of the feelings as do 
lines 121-123 in Act IV, Sc. v, where Aufidius says to 
Coriolanus, 

" Each word thou hast spoke hath weeded from my heart 
A root of ancient envy." 

The angry emotions were, however, thought to have 
their seat in the spleen, and the word "spleen" is 
used as synonymous with anger and malice. An 
example of this is found in Act IV, Sc. v, 11. 107-109, 
where Coriolanus declares, 

"For I will fight 
Against my canker' d country with the spleen 
Of all the under fiends." 

123. Look you. Note how Menenius is becoming 
interested in his treatment of the fable, instead of 



Scene I.] NOTES 205 

keeping the attention of his audience focused on the 
moral of it. 

129. First Citizen. Hitherto the First Citizen has 
spoken in prose, but now as he becomes agitated, he 
speaks in blank verse. Note that Menenius and the 
other nobles talk in blank verse throughout this scene. 

133. Muniments. Defences. Supplies of war. 
(Temple Ed.) 

136. 'Fore me. A very mild oath, probably a short- 
ened form of " God before me " as Chambers suggests. 
The abuse of God's name in stage plays was forbidden 
by an Act of Parliament in 1606. Menenius is sur- 
prised at the interruption and cannot disguise his vexa- 
tion. 

148. You' st. You'll. A provincial form. 

150. Case of me, and why. 

153. Incorporate. Forming one body. 

160. The seat of the brain. See note to line 121. 

161. Cranks and offices. Winding passages and 
rooms. 

162. Nerves. Sinews. 

171. Flour. In contrast to bran in the next line. 
Flour is the flower or finest part of the ground grain. 

173. The First Citizen recognizes that the belly 
made a good answer, but demands that Menenius should 
apply it to the affairs in the Roman state. 

185. Great toe. Notice how Menenius, when he 
sees the shallowness of his unconvincing arguments, 
now singles out his chief heckler for a personal attack. 



206 NOTES [Act I. 

He has not succeeded in reconciling the patrician and 
plebeian viewpoints largely because of the shrewdness 
of his antagonist. 

190. Rascal. A lean, young deer. Shakespeare, 
according to Fortesque, seems to have conceived of a 
"rascal" as " a deer with a great head and a small 
body, who would neither fight nor run." Such a deer 
might very likely be in the front of the herd, as the 
young males and the hinds always move in front while 
the big stags bring up the rear. 

194. Must have bale. " Must get the worst of it." 
Menenius is dissembling no longer as a tactful politi- 
cian, but is expressing his real opinions now. 

199. Scabs. A term of abuse. Note the play on 
the word, and note also its modern use. Coriolanus at 
his first appearance vindicates the assertion of the First 
Citizen in line 8, where he is first mentioned. To him, 
it seems undesirable that the commoners should be 
doing any thinking whatsoever. They are always hate- 
ful to him, but especially so when they form opinions 
of dissent. 

210. Surer. To be relied upon. 

212. Your virtue is, etc. " Your virtue is to speak 
well of him whom his own offences have subjected to 
justice ; and to rail at those laws by which he whom you 
praise was punished." 

216. Affections. See note on line 115. 

224. Your garland. "Whom you honored with a 
garland." 



Scene I.] NOTES 207 

230. Their seeking. Coriolanus will not even deign 
to learn of their demands from the plebeians themselves, 
but prefers to seek information from one of his own 
class. 

238. Side. Take sides with. 

241. Feebling. Treating as feeble. 

244. Ruth. Pity. 

245. Quarry. A pile of slaughtered game, often 
given as a reward to the dogs after the hunt. The 
meaning is, "I would quarter thousands of these slaves 
and make them a heap of dead." 

\ 247. Pick. Pitch, hurl. 

249. Persuaded. Is this true? Have the citizens 
been persuaded by the arguments of Menenius or 
frightened by the insolence of Coriolanus? 

256. Proverbs. Wright, the Clarendon Press editor, 
quotes the following comment from Archbishop Trench, 
Proverbs and their Lessons: " In a fastidious age, in- 
deed, and one of false refinement, they may go nearly 
or quite out of use among the so-called upper classes. 
' No gentleman,' says Lord Chesterfield, or ' no man of 
fashion,' as I think is his exact phrase, ' ever uses a 
proverb.' And with how fine a touch of nature Shake- 
speare makes Coriolanus, the man who, with all his 
greatness, is entirely devoid of all sympathy for the 
people, to utter his scorn of them in scorn of their 
proverbs, and of their frequent employment of these." 

264. Generosity. Nobility. Used in its original 
Latin sense. Generosi were men of noble birth. 



208 NOTES [Act I. 

266. Caps. Cf. Julius Caesar, I, ii, 246, "the 
rabblement . . . threw up their sweaty night caps." 

269. Shouting their emulation. " Rivalling each 
other in their shouting." 

274. 'S death. A contraction from " God's death ! '' 
A mild oath. 

277. Win upon power. " Get the better of those 
in power " and then make fresh demands. 

286. Vent our musty superfluity. Get rid of our 
superfluity of plebeians who have deteriorated through 
peace. Cf . this remark with that of Menenius in 1. 192. 

291. Put you to it. A colloquialism meaning "put 
you to the test." Mark the change in Coriolanus's atti- 
tude when he converses with men of his own class. 

295. Our attention is at once called to the personal 
rivalry between Coriolanus and Aufidius. 

299. What should only modify? 

307. Stand' st out? Do you stand aside? Will you 
not join us? 

315. Lead you on. Cominius leads because he is 
consul. 

319. Noble Marcius. Some editors contend that 
Cominius by this courteous remark, accompanied 
perhaps with a bow, acknowledges the right of Corio- 
lanus to lead even though as general-in-chief he does so 
himself. Throughout the remainder of the act, the 
emphasis is placed on the noble and heroic qualities of 
Coriolanus. 

326. Your valour, etc. Plutarch says that when the 



Scene II.] NOTES 209 

sedition was over, the plebeians went bravely forth to 
battle. What dramatic purpose is served by making 
them seem cowardly? 

330. Tribunes. Cf. 1. 271. "So Junius Brutus 
and Sicinius Velutus were the first Tribunes of the 
people that were chosen who had only been causers 
and procurers of this sedition." — Plutarch. 

334. Gird. Jeer, taunt. 

336. Modest moon. Chaste Diana. 

337. The present wars devour him. Not to be 
regarded as an assertion in view of the fears expressed 
in the remainder of Brutus's words. 

351. Giddy censure. Thoughtless judgment. 
356. Demerits. Merits, the Latin meaning. 

364. How the dispatch is made. " With what 
form of commission the generals are sent to war." 

365. More than his singularity. More than his 
own peculiar disposition, i.e. his usual superior atti- 
tude. 

This brief colloquy between the tribunes shows that 
they understand Coriolanus quite as little as the latter 
understands the plebeians. These misunderstandings, 
in addition to the rivalry of Aufidius, are sources of 
danger which contain great dramatic possibilities. 

Scene II. 

The action in the first scene revolves about Corio- 
lanus, that of the second about Aufidius, his great 
rival. The first scene arouses our fears for the safety 
p 



210 NOTES [Act I. 

of Rome because of the prevailing internal dissension ; 
the second directs our attention to imminent danger 
from external war. 

Sufficient time must have elapsed since the close of 
the first scene for the news of the mutiny in Rome to 
have reached Corioli. 

2. Enter' d in. Have become acquainted with. 

6. Bodily act. Accomplishment. 

7. Had circumvention. Had found the means for 
circumventing us. 

10. Pressed a power. Levied an army. 

14. Enemy. Note the effect of the frequent use of 
this word. 

22. To answer us. I.e. to meet us in battle. 

29. Take in. Seize, capture. 

34. For the remove. For raising the siege. 

42. Sworn. Aufidius also calls attention to the 
deadly rivalry existing between Coriolanus and him- 
self. Shakespeare keeps this fact prominently before 
us so that we may be prepared for the events which 
follow. 

Scene III. 

This scene, which is mostly Shakespeare's own, is 
the last of the introductory scenes. As the leading 
character and his chief opponent have now been in- 
troduced, the dramatist brings forward Volumnia, 
who is to play such an important part in the descend- 
ing action. As the stern Roman mother she is effec- 



Scene III.] NOTES 211 

tively contrasted with the gentle, timid, but appealing, 
Virgilia. 

This domestic and human scene also serves to relieve 
the tension produced by the two preceding scenes, which 
have been so largely concerned with political strife 
and impending foreign war. 

The time interval between this scene and the pre- 
ceding one is short, merely long enough for the Romans 
to obtain news from their army in the field. The re- 
maining scenes of this act follow each other in direct 
succession. 

7. Plucked. Drew. 

15. Cruel War. The battle of Lake Regillus. 

16. Brows bound with oak. " Hereupon, after the 
battle was won, the Dictator did not forget so noble 
an act, and, therefore, first of all he crowned Martius 
with a garland of oaken boughs. For whosoever 
saveth the life of a Roman, it is a manner among them, 
to honour him with such a garland." — Plutarch. 

What military decorations of the present day are 
given for a similar act of heroism? 

31. Beseech. I beseech. 

32. Retire myself. A reflexive use, common in 
Shakespeare's day. 

34. Hither. Either here or coming hither. 

50. Bless from. Preserve from. Notice how Vir- 
gilia and Volumnia represent respectively the feminine 
and masculine types of women. 

58. Manifest housekeepers. Manifestly stayers at 
home. 



212 NOTES [Act I. 

59. Spot. Figure, pattern. 

68. Confirmed. Determined. 

69. Gilded butterfly. Note that the boy chased 
no ordinary butterfly, even as he now pursues no 
commonplace ideal. What butterfly might be re- 
ferred to? 

74. Mammocked. Tore it to pieces. 

76. La. A colloquialism, often used by Shake- 
speare. Cf. 1. 103. 

77. Crack. A boy (slightly contemptuous). 

97. Moths. Some editors see a play on words here. 
" The ' Moths ' are the suitors that gathered about 
Penelope, the word suggesting also her long waiting 
for the return of Ulysses." 

98. Sensible. Sensitive. 
114. Nothing. Not at all. 

120. Disease. Rob of ease, spoil. Our better 
mirth. "Our mirth which would be better if she would 
not accompany us." 

125. At a word. In a word, once for all. 

Scene IV. 

Throughout the remaining scenes of this act, the 
dramatist aims to build up a truly heroic figure in the 
person of Coriolanus. In the crisis at hand, the latter 
becomes the champion of Rome, who by his dauntless 
valor twice saves the day, and thereby arouses the 
city to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. His weaknesses 
are forgotten for the moment, and betray themselves 



Scene IV.] NOTES 213 

only to a keen observer. The dramatist has made 
him tower so high above his fellows that his later fall 
through successive blunders may be the more tragic. 
Aufidius is again brought in as a rival who is destined 
to play an ever larger part in the life of Coriolanus. 

7. Spoke. Probably the usual parley before the 
battle. Cf. Julius Ccesar, Act V, Sc. i. 

13. Summon the town. I.e. to surrender. 

] 6. 'Larum. Alarum, call to arms. 

21. Fielded friends. Friends in the field. Stage 
direction. The Elizabethan stage had an upper gallery 
or balcony, which would represent in this case the walls 
or battlements of the city of Corioli. 

23. Aufidius. Coriolanus's first question concerns 
his rival. His desire to meet Aufidius seems uppermost 
in his mind, overshadowing his duties as a commander 
of the forces of Rome. 

29. Pound us up. Shut us up as in a pound. 

34. Cloven army. Cominius had divided his army 
into two parts : one, of which he took command, ad- 
vanced towards the enemy in the open field ; the other, 
under the command of Coriolanus and Titus Lartius, 
he left in camp to resist " those that would make any 
sally out of the city against them." 

43. Beyond our thoughts. "More than we ex- 
pected." 

48. Contagion of the south. The south wind is 
always referred to by Shakespeare as foggy, damp, etc. 
Does this invective seem deserved ? Note how Corio- 



214 NOTES [Act I. 

lanus looms up as a hero against the background 
of such evident cowardice. His agitation shows itself 
also in the choppy sentences. 

59. Agued. Like an ague in effect. 

70. Fool-hardiness. Note the dramatic purpose of 
this remark. 

73. To the pot. Cf. the current slang phrase, " gone 
to pot." 

81. Sensibly outdares, etc. "Who, though pos- 
sessed of feeling, outdares his sword which has none." 

86. Cato's wish. " For he was even such another as 
Cato would have a soldier and captain to be, not only 
terrible and fierce to lay about him, but to make the 
enemy afeard with the sound of his voice, and grim- 
ness of his countenance." — Plutarch. An anachro- 
nism, because Cato lived two centuries later. 

93. Make remain alike. "Share the same fate." 

Scene V. 

The common soldiers have already shown themselves 
cowardly while their leader was performing prodigious 
feats of valor ; this contrast is heightened when they 
turn to looting as soon as an opportunity affords itself, 
while Coriolanus disdains to stoop to so base a practice. 
As the Second Citizen said in Scene i, Coriolanus is 
not "covetous" ; at least, not of material wealth. 

3. A murrain. An imprecation common in Eliza- 
bethan days. The murrain was the bubonic plague. 

5. Movers. Ironical, meaning loafers in search for 
plunder. 



Scene VI.] NOTES 215 

7. Drachma. A silver Greek coin worth about 
twenty cents. 

8. Of a doit. Worth half a farthing. 

9. Wore them. Hangmen were entitled to the 
garments of those they executed. 

17. Make good. Hold, defend. 

26. Physical. Like physic or medicine and, there- 
fore, wholesome. 

27. To Aufidius. Notice the constant reminder of 
his desire to meet Aufidius face to face in combat. 

34. Than those. That is, than the friend of those, 
etc. 

Scene VI. 

7. Conveying gusts. " Now and then as gusts 
conveyed the noise." 

22. Not a mile. Compare Sc. iv, 1. 15. Briefly. 
A short while ago. 

24. Confound. Spend, waste. 

43. Clip. Clasp, embrace. 

50. Ransoming him or pitying. Releasing one for 
a ransom or not demanding any because of pity. 

54. Let slip at will. The slips or cords b}^ which 
greyhounds were held at a hunt were so constructed 
that they could be let loose at will. Is this speech 
rather too boastful? 

62. The common file, etc. Note how incoherent the 
remarks of Coriolanus become when he recalls the be- 
havior of " the common file " which he led into battle. 



/ 



216 NOTES [Act I. 

He evidently meant to say, "Had it not been for the 
valor of our gentlemen, the common file would have 
lost us the battle." 

74. Battle. Army drawn up in battle array. 

78. Vaward. Vanguard. " Those of the Antiates 
whom they esteemed to be the warlikest men." — 
Plutarch. 

86. Delay not the present. " Remain any longer 
in our present condition of retreat." 

87. Advanced. Swords and standards were lifted 
up during an advance. 

88. Prove. Put to the proof. 

97. If any fear, etc. " If any fear less for his person 
than he fears an ill report." Coriolanus here stands 
forth as a fine type of soldier. Throughout this 
speech, he voices the highest ideals of the military hero. 
He now appeals to the better instincts of the " common 
file," and the response is hearty and immediate. 

104. O, me alone! Make you a sword of me? 
This line has been variously interpreted by different 
editors. The best interpretation seems to be that of 
Wright, who says : " Coriolanus is taken by surprise at 
the eagerness with which the soldiers rush forward in 
answer to his appeal. Instead of waving their swords 
as he had directed, they make a sword of him. In- 
stead of volunteers coining forward singly, the 
whole mass would follow Coriolanus only ; none would 
stay behind. When he saw this, he exclaimed, ' Oh, 
me alone ! ' and then when they raised him aloft, 



Scene VIII.] NOTES 217 

' Make you a sword of me? ' brandish me as if I were 
a sword? " 

112. As cause will be obeyed. As occasion shall de- 
mand. 

113. Four. Four subordinate officers whom he will 
choose to select a party from the volunteers. 

117. You shall divide, etc. Cominius supplements 
the emotional appeal of Coriolanus with more practical 
assurances. Compare the promise of Cassius to An- 
tony in Julius Ccesar, III, i, 177-178 : 

" Your voice shall be as strong as any man's 
In the dispensing of new dignities." 

Scene VII. 

1. Ports. Portals or gates. 

4. Centuries.. Companies of a hundred men. 

Scene VIII. 

The difficulty of effective^ representing a battle on 
the stage is very great. Shakespeare's method of doing 
so is to give us glimpses of the action at those parts of 
the battlefield where some important incidents are 
taking place. This helps us to get the effect of the 
bustle and excitement incident to a battle, it keeps us 
informed of how the battle is progressing, and it creates 
for us the impression of the passing of time. In Scene 
viii, the dramatist finally brings together the two lead- 
ing antagonists in personal conflict and focuses our 
attention on them solely. 



218 NOTES [Act I. 

Ancient dramatists did not attempt to represent a, 
battle on the stage, but had some character, sometimes 
a messenger, sometimes a participant, relate the story 
of the battle after it was over. Because the audience 
was required to draw too much on the imagination, that 
method was hardly as effective as Shakespeare's. 

6. Fame and envy. Plutarch says, " Tullus did 
. . . malice and envy him." Some editors, however, 
construe this expression as an example of hendiadys, 
and, therefore, to mean, "envied (or hated) fame." Cf. 
"horn and noise," Act III, Sc. i, 1. 138. 

10. Holloa. Cry hollo ! after me, pursue. 

15. Wrench up. Screw up, exert. Cf. Macbeth, 
Act I, Sc. vii, 1. 60. " But screw your courage to the 
sticking place." 

17. Bragged progeny. Boasted ancestors. The 
Romans believed themselves to be descendants of the 
Trojans, of whom Hector was the bravest or " the 
whip." 

20. Officious . . . seconds. These words are ad- 
dressed to his supporters and show his extreme anger at 
being defeated, especially with superior numbers on his 
side. They may be freely paraphrased thus : " Officious, 
but not valiant, 'in your interference, you have shamed 
me by seconding me in such a weak manner." 

Scene IX. 

The action of this scene is placed by Shakespeare 
upon the day of the battle so that we may observe 



Scene IX.] NOTES 219 

Coriolanus more closely when the excitement of the 
battle has passed. He refuses the rewards commonly 
coveted by soldiers of his time, and can hardly contain 
his scorn for those who fight for spoil. He is a typical 
product of militarism, even in his pretended magna- 
nimity. 

5. Shrug. That is, incredulously. 

7. Gladly quaked. Glad to be made to quake. 

9. Fusty. Mouldy. From O. F. fuste, tasting of the 
cask. On what syllable is plebeians accented in this 
line? 

13. Morsel. " The fight with Aufidius is but a 
trifle compared with the taking of Corioli." 

19. Charter. Privilege, right. 

24. Hath overta'en mine act. "He that hath 
accomplished his object, has done just as much as I." 
Is this speech of Coriolanus to be taken as sincere, or 
does it indicate a subtler pride in that he does not wish 
them to consider such deeds as unusual ones for him 
to perform? 

28. Traducement. Calumny, slander. 

37. To hear. When they hear. 

38. Should they not. That is, "should they not 
hear themselves remembered." 

40. Tent themselves. Probe themselves. The 
meaning of 11. 38-40 is, "If they should not hear them- 
selves remembered, they might well fester because of 
ingratitude and refuse to be probed except by the probe 
of death." 



220 NOTES [Act I. 

48. Bribe. Coriolanus again shows his aversion 
to accepting a material reward for his services. His 
ideas of military conduct would not permit him to do 
so. 

51-58. May these . . . the wars. This is the most 
perplexing passage in the play and, therefore, has 
been variously emended and explained. The reading 
here adopted is that of the First Folio, which seems to be 
the most satisfactory one. Hudson explains these 
lines thus : " Martius has been fighting in his country's 
cause (line 22), and deprecates bribery (line 48) and 
flattery, which only unfit the soldier for duty. When 
drums and trumpets on the field of battle shall prove 
flatterers, well may courts and cities be naught else. 
When steel loses its power (because the soldier's arm 
has become effeminate) then let the parasite (who 
accepts gifts and wins his way by flattery) take the 
place of the warrior in beginning wars." 

56. Soothing. Flattery. 

60. Debile. Weak. 

63. In acclamations hyperbolical. With exaggerated 
applause. 

64. Dieted. Fed up. 

68. Give you truly. " Estimate your virtues cor- 
rectly." 

70. Proper. His own. 

74. Garland. Probably meaning not the crown of 
laurel, but merely honor. 

80. Addition. Title. 



Scene X.] NOTES 221 

86. To undercrest. To wear as a crest. A phrase 
from heraldry, signifying that he would support 
Cominius's good opinion of him. 

92. The best. The leading citizens of Corioli. 
Articulate. Enter into negotiations, arrange articles 
of peace. 

99. Sometime lay. Lodged at a certain time. 

106. Butcher. This extravagant remark on the part 
of Cominius shows how completely Coriolanus has 
won the hearts of the patricians. From the dramatic 
standpoint, the man to be released is not important, 
but the willingness of Cominius to grant even the 
slightest wish of Coriolanus is very significant. 

Scene X. 

This scene does not advance the action, but serves 
to keep Aufidius and the Volscians before us. Al- 
though the latter have been defeated, they will again 
play a large part in the life of the hero, and must there- 
fore be kept in mind. Besides, Aufidius's declaration 
of undying enmity arouses our sense of expectancy, 
and creates the necessary feeling of dramatic suspense. 

6. Be that I am. Be satisfied to be a defeated man. 

7. Good condition. In the double sense of good 
terms and good character. The pun is ironical. 

14. Mine emulation, etc. Coleridge made the 
following comment on these words : "I have such deep 
faith in Shakespeare's heart-lore, that I take it for 
granted that this is in nature, and not a mere anomaly ; 



222 NOTES [Act II. 

although I cannot in myself discover any germ of pos- 
sible feeling which could wax and unfold itself into 
such a sentiment as this. However, I presume that 
in this speech is meant to be contained a prevention of 
shock at the after-change in Aufidius's character." 

15. Where. Whereas. 

18. Or wrath or craft may get him. " So that 
either my wrath or my craft may get him." 

26. Embarquements. Restraints, hindrances. 

29. Upon my brother's guard. With my brother 
as his guard. 

30. The hospitable canon. The sacred law of hos- 
pitality. 

36. Attended. Waited for. 

38. The city mills. A bit of detail added by Shake- 
speare and of which there is no mention in Plutarch, 
but which adds " an air of truth." There were mills 
close to the Globe Theatre. 

38-40. Let me hear the condition of things that I 
may adapt my course accordingly. 



Act II. 

The chief purpose in the second act is to reveal more 
fully the ingrained weaknesses of the character of 
Coriolanus by placing him in situations where they 
will at once become apparent. Just as the first act 
showed us his nobility of character when he defended 



Scene L] NOTES 223 

his country and its people against the aggression of a 
foreign foe, so this act discloses his lack of sympathy 
for one class of people in the state, and his inability 
to understand their viewpoint when domestic problems 
call for solution. These deficiencies have been hinted 
at before, but they are now fully revealed when Corio- 
lanus essays the difficult role of politician. Although he 
tries to hide his sovereign contempt for the plebeians 
for the time being, his overweening pride soon asserts 
itself, and, in canvassing for the consulship, he soon 
loses by his arrogant manner and his surly language the 
temporary popularity which he had gained by his 
bravery. 

Scene I. 

This scene serves to prepare the way for the transi- 
tion from military to civil affairs. We are informed 
of the state of affairs in Rome now that the war is over, 
and are shown the contrast between the welcome which 
Coriolanus receives from the patricians and that 
which is given him by the plebeians. Adherents of 
autocratic rule have always resorted to wars to pacify 
the masses, whether the latter have demanded bread 
or a larger share in the government. The Roman 
patricians followed this traditional custom with the 
usual result, — they have smothered, but not extin- 
guished, the fires of discontent. The hostility between 
the two classes is as irreconcilable as that between the 
tribunes and Coriolanus. 



224 NOTES [Act II. 

25. Censured. Estimated, regarded. 

26. The right-hand file. The 'place of honor to 
military men has always been the right of the line, 
and accordingly, a captain always placed his choicest 
and best men in the right-hand files of his company. 
A file in the sixteenth century consisted of ten men. 
Menenius here refers to the patricians. Cf . " The 
common file," Act I, Sc. vi, 1. 61. 

32. A very little thief of occasion. Any trifling 
provocation. 

40. Single. Simple, insignificant. A play on the 
word. 

42-44. Survey of your good selves. " With an 
allusion to the fable, which says that every man has a 
bag hanging before him in which he puts his neigh- 
bour's faults, and another behind him in which he 
stows his own." — Johnson. 

50 ff . With a feeling of infinite superiority, Mene- 
nius admits his imperfections, but implies that they are 
merely those which any man of good breeding is apt to 
have. He prides himself on being a good fellow, a 
bon vivant, a hale fellow well met whose code of prin- 
ciples could naturally not be understood by such com- 
moners as the tribunes are. That he may impress upon 
them more effectively the fact that they are men of 
lesser degree, he uses as high-sounding language as he 
can command. Neither his irony nor his sarcasm, 
however, has much effect on the tribunes, as can be 
seen from Brutus's reply in 11. 87-89. 



Scene I.] NOTES 225 

50. Humorous. Full of whims or humors. 

52. Allaying. Cooling, diluting. 

52 ff . Said to be, etc. Menenius seems merely to 
suggest that this is the worst fault the populace finds 
in him. 

54. Motion. Occasion. 

58. Wealsmen. Statesmen. Used in an ironical 
sense. Lycurguses. Lycurgus was the renowned law- 
giver of Sparta. What figure? 

62. The ass in compound with. So much stupidity 
mixed with. 

67. Map of my microcosm. Face. Elizabethans 
spoke of man as the microcosm, and the universe as 
the macrocosm. 

69. Bisson conspectuities. Purblind powers of sight. 

72. We know you well enough. The inference seems 
to be, we know your character as well as your reputa- 
tion and we do not think too highly of either. This 
seems to irritate Menenius, — something which always 
happens when his specious remarks do not prove con- 
vincing. 

75. For poor knaves' caps and legs. To have poor 
knaves doff their caps and bow to you. 

77. You wear . . . fosset-seller. These lines refer 
to Elizabethan, and not to Roman customs. Magis- 
trates in Shakespeare's day heard lawsuits, but not so 
the tribunes. An orange-wife was a woman who 
sold oranges on the street. A fosset-seller was a 
vender of faucets or taps for wine casks. 
Q 



226 NOTES [Act II, 

77. Rejourn. Adjourn. 

81. Mummers. The absurdly masked actors in 
a masquerade or in a Christmas play. 

82. Set up the bloody flag. Declare war. The 
red flag was a signal for battle even as the white flag 
was a sign of peace. 

89. Perfecter . . . than a necessary, etc. Brutus 
here hints that even the patricians do not attach any 
weight to the opinions of Menenius. Notice how this 
angers him, especially because he wants the com- 
moners to be impressed by his abilities as a statesman. 

95. Botcher. A mender of old clothes. 

96. Ass's pack saddle. Menenius chooses the 
poorest kind of saddle for the figure. 

99. Since Deucalion. That is, "since the days of 
Deucalion, the Greek Noah." 

100. God-den. Good even, a contraction of "God 
give you good even." 

102. Being. That is, "you being." 

113. Take my cap, Jupiter. Menenius's mood, 
which had immediately changed at the sight of the 
women, because they belong to his class, now becomes 
one of exaltation. He forgets his dignity and throws 
his cap to Jupiter, the god of the sky. 

126. Galen. An anachronism. Galen, a celebrated 
Greek physician, was born in 131 a.d. Empiricutic. 
Quackish (probably a coined word) . 

136. The oaken garland. Cf. I, iii, 16. 

142. Fidiused. Facetiously coined from " Au-fidius." 



Scene I.] 



NOTES 227 



144. Possessed of. Informed of. 

147. Name. Credit, honor. 

155. Pow, wow. Pooh, pooh ! What is Volumnia's 
feeling towards her daughter-in-law? 

163. Place. The consulship. 

166. Nine that I know. Menenius does some add- 
ing also and corrects Volumnia. 

175-178. Death . . . men die. "This ranting 
couplet is probably an actor's interpolation." — Hud- 
son. 

175. Nervy. Sinewy. 

Stage Direction. Sennet. A set of notes played on a 
trumpet as a signal for the approach or departure of a 
procession. 

194. Deed-achieving honour. Honour from deeds 
achieved. 

197. My gracious silence. Clarke's comment is 
worth quoting : " This name for his wife, who, while 
all the others are receiving him with loud rejoicings, 
meets and welcomes him with speechless happiness 
looking out from swimming eyes, is conceived in the 
very fulness of poetical and Shakespearian perfection. 
It comprises the gracefulness of the beauty which 
distinguishes her, and the gracious effect which the 
muteness of her love-joy has upon him who shrinks 
from noisy applause and even from merely expressed 
approbation ; and it wonderfully concentrates into one 
felicitous word the silent softness that characterizes 
Virgilia throughout. She is precisely the woman — 



228 NOTES [Act II. 

formed by nature gentle in manner, and rendered by 
circumstances sparing in speech — to inspire the fond- 
est affection in such a man as Coriolanus." 

216. Crab-trees. That is, the tribunes. 

219. A nettle. Menenius classes the tribunes with 
obnoxious weeds which one must accustom one's self 
to seeing but which should not be permitted to be a 
source of annoyance. 

222. Ever, ever. May be taken to mean a hearty 
assent to the words of Cominius or "ever the same 
Menenius." 

229. Change of honours. Different honors, new 
honors. 

231. Inherited. Realized, obtained. 

237. Sway. Bear sway. This remark should be 
borne in mind, for it is prophetic of the eventual 
downfall of Coriolanus. In the moment of his greatest 
triumph, he admits his lack of sympathy with those 
who alone can give him the further honors which his 
mother covets for him. Note, also, that even when he 
seems most secure, the tribunes are laying plans to 
bring about his downfall. 

242. Rapture. Fit. 

243. Chats him. Gossips about him. Malkin. 
a wench ; probably a contraction of Mathilda. 

244. Lockram. A cheap, coarse linen. Reechy. 
Dirty (literally, smoky). 

245. Bulks. The projecting parts of a shop on 
which goods were exposed for sale. 



Scene I.] 



NOTES 229 



248. Horsed with variable complexions. Be- 
stridden by people of all sorts. 

249. Seld-shown flamens. Seldom-seen priests. 
251. Vulgar station. A standing-place among the 

people of the lower class. 

253. Nicely-gawded. Daintily bedecked. 

254. Pother. Uproar. 

258. On the sudden. That is, in his sudden rise to 

favor. 

262. Transport. Bear, carry. The meaning of 
these hues is, "He cannot bear his honors throughout 
his whole course without giving offence, but will lose 
even those which he has won." 

276. The napless vesture of humility. Plutarch 

says of this custom : " For the custom of Rome was at 

that time, that such as did sue for any office, should 

for certain days before be in the market-place, only 

with a poor gown on their backs, and without any coat 

underneath, to pray the citizens to remember them at 

the day of election; which was thus devised, either 

to move the people the more, by requesting them in 

such mean apparel, or else because they might show 

them their wounds they had gotten in the wars in the 

service of the Commonwealth, as manifest marks and 

testimonies of their valiantness." 

288 As our good wills. " Either (1) ' as our dis- 
positions towards him are ' or (2) ' as our advantage 

requires.' " 

291. For an end. To bring matters to a crisis. 



230 NOTES [Act II. 

293. Still. Always, constantly. To's power. To 
the fullest extent of his power. 

298. Dispropertied their freedoms. Robbed their 
freedom of its qualities, made it no freedom. 

299. Provand. Provender, food. 
306. Put upon't. Incited to it. 

315-317. Matrons . . . handkerchers. An Eng- 
lish custom during the days of chivalry, not a Roman 
one. 

324. Hearts for the event. Courage to face the 
outcome. 

325. Have with you. A common idiom equivalent 
to " I'll go with you." 

Scene II. 

Coriolanus now rapidly approaches the parting of the 
ways. Although the tribunes do not conceal their 
hostility towards him, he has, nevertheless, two impor- 
tant factors to aid him in his candidacy for the consul- 
ship, — the admiration and good-will of the Senate, 
and the popular acclaim given a successful general. 
An excellent opportunity is now afforded him of re- 
gaining and retaining a safe place in the affections of 
the common people, but he at once shows his instinc- 
tive dislike to asking the plebeians for any favor what- 
soever. As he regards the method of canvassing as 
humiliating, and as his attitude towards the people 
has apparently undergone no change, we cannot expect 
his canvassing to advance his fortunes. 



Scene II.] NOTES 231 

The action of this scene follows closely after that of 
the preceding one, sufficient time having elapsed for 
ambassadors from Corioli to reach Rome. 

6. Vengeance proud. Immoderately proud or proud 
with a vengeance. 

15. In. Of, concerning. 

19. Waved. Would waver. 

23. Discover him their opposite. Reveal him as 
their opponent. 

24. Affect. Desire, seek. 

30-32. Bonneted . . . report. Took off their caps 
and bonnets to them but failed to do anything further 
to win their esteem and good opinion. Plutarch, in 
comparing Alcibiades with Coriolanus, says concern- 
ing this point : " He is less to be blamed, that seeketh 
to please and gratify the common people than he that 
despiseth and disdaineth them, and therefore offereth 
them wrong and injury, because he would not seem to 
flatter them, to win the more authority." 

41. Having determined of the Volsces. Having 
come to a decision concerning the Volsces. 

44. Gratify. Requite. 

49. Well-found. Fortunately met with. 

55-57. Make us . . . stretch it out. "Make us 
think rather that the state's means to fittingly reward 
him for his services are defective, than that our desire 
to use them for such a purpose is lacking." 

60. Your loving motion, etc. " Your kind inter- 
oosition with the common people." 



232 NOTES [Act II. 

62. Convented. Convened, assembled. 

63. Treaty. Proposal tending to an agreement. 
67. Blessed. Happy, glad. 

70. Off. "Off the subject." Menenius is in- 
censed at the tribunes for not submissively doing what 
they are directed to do. 

87. Disbench'd. Caused you to leave your bench. 
This remark indicates that Coriolanus had taken his 
seat, although the stage-direction at his entrance states 
that he remained standing. The stage-direction for 
1. 78 is given in the Folios, as, " Coriolanus rises, and 
offers to go away." It must, therefore, be assumed 
that he sat down soon after Menenius began to speak. 

91. Soothed. Flattered. 

93. Weigh. Are worthy. Coriolanus proudly as- 
serts his indifference to the opinion of Brutus and his 
followers. 

98. Monster'd. Exaggerated, made extraordinary. 

99. Masters. Is his use of this term sincere? Cf. 
1. 58. 

101. That's . . . one. Of whom not one in a 
thousand is a good one. 

112. Singly. By any single man. 

113. Made a head for Rome. Raised an army to 
attack Rome. 

116. Amazonian chin. A chin as beardless as that 
of an Amazon. 

120. On Ms knee. That is, so that Tarquin fell on 
his knees. 



Scene II.] NOTES 233 

121. Act the woman, etc. That is, young enough to 
play the parts of women on the stage. On the Eliza- 
bethan stage, female parts were always played by men. 

124. Man-enter' d thus. Thus passed into that of 
manhood. 

126. Lurched. Robbed, deprived. 

129. Speak him home. Describe his deeds as they 
deserve. 

134. Took. Took effect. 

137. Mortal. Fatal, deadly. 

138. Painted with shunless destiny. Hudson ob- 
serves " plague-stricken houses were painted with a 
red cross, but there may be here a reminiscence of Exo- 
dus xii, 22-23." 

140. Struck .... planet. An allusion to the astro- 
logical belief that adverse planets had a harmful influ- 
ence upon human destiny. Perhaps the dramatist also 
had in mind the picture of a city destroyed by thunder- 
bolts or meteors. 

143. Fatigate. Fatigued. 

150. With measure. " That is, no honour will be 
too great for him ; he will show a mind equal to any 
elevation." — Johnson. Some editors point to this 
as an example of dramatic irony, because the honors 
to which the Senator refers are those which cause his 
eventual downfall. 

156. Misery. Wretchedness, poverty. It is worth 
noticing that this eulogy by Cominius is the last 
summing up of the virtues of the hero. Henceforth, 



234 NOTES [Act II. 

his weaknesses and deficiencies appear with increasing 
rapidity. 

158. To end it. For the sake of spending it thus. 

165. Still. Always. Coriolanus is quite willing to 
place his services at the command of the patricians, 
but in his following speech, he again shows his strong 
aversion to asking any favors of the plebeians. 

170. Custom. Candidates for office in ancient Rome 
whitened their togas with pipe-clay to make a good 
appearance, and stood in the Forum dressed in this 
toga only. They did not appear, however, in poor 
and worn garments as Shakespeare seems to indicate 
in the phrase, " the napless vesture of humility," in II, 
i, 1. 276, nor did they " stand naked." 

174. Pass. Pass by, omit. 

176. Must have their voices. Must have the privi- 
lege of voting. The tribunes at once seize the oppor- 
tunity to put Coriolanus into a false position. 

181. Your form. The form (formality) which you 
must go through. 

190. Do not stand upon't. Do not object to it so 
stubbornly. 

191. We recommend to you . . . our purpose to 
them. We commit to you the announcing of our 
purpose to them. 

198. Require them. Make his request of them. 



Scene III.] NOTES 235 

Scene III. 

In this scene, Coriolanus quite alienates the affections 
of the plebeians, — the first of several blunders which 
finally cause his banishment. Haughty in his bearing, 
insolent and ironical in his speech, he proves himself 
totally unfitted for the office to which he aspires. 
His lack of sympathy with the commoners and his 
lack of self-control, both of which were partly re- 
vealed in the previous scenes, are now made evident 
with such clarity that the people cannot help but be 
resentful. Hence, they readily fall in with the schemes 
of the wily tribunes. We necessarily feel that the 
troubles of Coriolanus, instead of being practically 
ended as he assumed, have in reality just begun. 

1. Once. Once for all. 

16. Once. Once when. 

18. Many-headed multitude. An allusion to the 
Hydra and its nine heads, which was slain by Hercules. 

21. Auburn. Some editors retain ' abram,' the 
reading of the first three Folios, but most modern edi- 
tors follow the reading of the fourth Folio. Both 
words mean practically the same. 

25. Consent of. Agreement about. 

39. You may, you may. You may chaff me as much 
as you please. 

44. Gown of humility. Cf . II, i, 1. 276. 

48. By particulars. To each of us separately. 

68. Virtues ... by 'em. The virtues which our 



236 NOTES [Act II. 

divines preach to them, but which are wasted because 
the people neglect to practise them. The reference 
was evidently to the Elizabethan clergy. 

71. Wholesome. Reasonable, suitable. 

88. To ask it kindly. The First and Second Citizens 
are open-minded and easily impressed, but the Third 
Citizen seems to be an especial source of annoyance 
to Coriolanus. 

91. In private. Coriolanus considers it very vulgar 
to exhibit his wounds in public, or to have anyone 
think that he attached any importance to them. 

95. Adieu. No sooner had he obtained the neces- 
sary pledge than he deliberately walked away. He 
plainly shows his intense distaste for the whole per- 
formance. The citizens are astonished, and seem to 
regret their ready acquiescence. 

101. Customary. Coriolanus enters into the form 
of the ceremony, but not into the spirit of it. 

110. Sworn brother. Shakespeare frequently refers 
to the fratres jurati of the Middle Ages, who swore to 
share each other's fortunes. 

112. Condition. Disposition. 

115. Be off. That is, be off with my cap, doff it. 

124. Seal. Confirm. 

131. Woolvish toge. " Rough, hirsute gown." — 
Johnson. 

133. Needless vouches. Needless attestations. 
Coriolanus still fails to see the need of these "vouches" 
when, as he thinks, the Senate has already chosen him 
as consul. 



Scene III.] NOTES 237 

141. Moe. More. 

145. Your voices, etc. A speech of irony, but not 
so understood by the people. The needless repetition 
of voices, the thinly-veiled sneer in heard of, and the 
mocking insinuation in some less, some more, are all 
intentional bits of burlesque, which fortunately pass 
over the heads of his simple-minded hearers. 

157. Limitation. Required time. 

160. Official marks. The insignia of the consular 
office. 

166. Upon your approbation. For the purpose of 
confirming your election. 

186. May deserve your loves. Brutus appears to 
be disgruntled because the people, contrary to instruc- 
tions from the tribunes, have chosen Coriolanus. It is 
Sicinius who perceives that the situation is still hope- 
ful, and who encourages the citizens to believe that they 
have been flouted. 

203. Aged custom. An error by the dramatist, as 
the consulship had been established only eighteen years 
before. 

218. Charters. Rights, privileges. 

219. Weal. State, commonwealth. Arriving. Ar- 
riving at. 

230. Touch'd. Tested, as by a touchstone. 

233. Cause. Occasion. 

234. Gall'd. A metaphor pertaining to a horse of 
high spirits. 

240. Free. Open. 



238 NOTES [Act III. 

246. Rectorship. Against the guidance of your 
judgment. 

252. Deny him yet. The Third Citizen, whom 
Coriolanus disliked from the first, sees a way to fore- 
stall the latter even now. " This is a point," Chambers 
says, " to which the tribunes wished to bring the 
people without themselves appearing to suggest it. 
The] ' confirmation ' is apparently the formal voting 
by tribes which followed the open acceptance of the 
candidate in the market-place, just as in a modern 
election the voting by ballot follows the show of hands 
at a nomination." 

265. Enforce. Lay stress on. 

267. Humble weed. The garment which signified 
humility. 

270. Portance. Bearing, demeanor. 

295. This arrangement of these lines, which have 
caused so much trouble to editors, is that adopted most 
widely by modern editors. 

302. Scaling. Weighing, comparing. 

306. Purring on. Instigation. 

308. Drawn your number. " Assembled those who 
think as you do." — Hudson. j 

313. This mutiny, etc. It would be better to hazard 
this mutiny than to wait for a greater one which would 
undoubtedly come. 

317. Anger. Take advantage of the opportunity 
which his anger will afford. 



Scene I.] NOTES 



Act III. 



239 



Having antagonized the plebeians, Coriolanus now 
commits the still graver blunder of turning against the 
patricians as well. With characteristic obtuseness, he 
does not seek for the cause of his predicament within 
himself, but places the blame upon his friends who have 
yielded to the demands of the commoners on previous 
occasions. Too short-sighted to realize the inevitable 
consequences of his haughty bearing during the can- 
vassing, and underestimating the power and influence 
of the tribunes, he believes himself assured of election 
at the opening of the act ; but, by the end of the act, 
he has succeeded in turning all classes against himself, 
and is exiled in disgrace. The complication is com- 
pleted and the climax, or turning point of the action, 
occurs in the third scene of this act, 11. 87-143. 

Scene I. 
The reference to Aufidius and the Volscians at the 
opening of this scene is intended to remind us that 
though they have suffered a defeat, they are still to be 
reckoned with. The remainder of the scene concerns 
itself with the astute manner in which the tribunes 
bait Coriolanus until he exposes his real self. Refusing 
to profess an interest in, or a sympathy for, the com- 
moners which was totally foreign to him, but which 
his fellow-patricians considered it both prudent and 
necessary publicly to avow, he is cleverly tricked 



240 NOTES [Act III. 

into a passionate outburst against the plebeians, and 
finally ends with an attack upon his own friends. The 
attempts of Menenius to save the situation delay mat- 
ters temporarily, but hardly presage a satisfactory 
solution of the difficulties. 

2. Made new head. Raised a fresh army. 

5. Our swifter composition. Our arranging of terms 
more swiftly than we had expected. 

15. On safe-guard. With a guard to protect him. 

27. To hopeless restitution. Beyond all hope of 
restitution. 

31. Ironical. " Coriolanus does not know how soon 
he will go to Antium, nor what his cause to seek 
Aufidius will be." 

36. Prank them. Deck themselves (used contemp- 
tuously). 

37. Against all noble sufferance. Beyond the en- 
durance of the nobility. 

53. Now. At one time. 

71. Sithence. Since then. 

75. To better yours. To surpass you in sharpness. 

Coriolanus has become doubly enraged through the 
suspicion that the tribunes have deliberately stirred 
up the people to oppose his election. At first, they 
are evasive when he charges them with doing so, but 
now Brutus openly admits the truth of the accusation. 
Of the two tribunes, it is Brutus who despises Corio- 
lanus the most ; however, the latter appears to hate one 
tribune as much as he does the other. As his next 



Scene I.] NOTES 241 

speech shows, he considers the office of tribune one 
that would reduce any man to a degraded position. 

80. That. That is, the arrogance of the patrician. 

86. Him. Brutus. 

88. Abused. Deceived. 

91. Dishonoured rub. Dishonourable impediment. 
In the game of bowls, which is played on a smooth 
grass plot, any slight unevenness or "rub" will deflect 
the bowl from its true course. Shakespeare's meta- 
phors frequently refer to sports and games. 

101. Behold themselves. " Let them look in the 
mirror which I hold up to them, a mirror which 
does not flatter, and see themselves." — Johnson. 

Coriolanus, in spite of the urgent protests of his 
fellow-patricians, breaks forth into a tirade in the 
exact manner that the tribunes had foreseen. Their 
plans have borne fruit, and the entanglement now in- 
creases rapidly. He not only reiterates his contempt 
for the people, but even blames his fellow-patricians 
for yielding to the plebeians at an earlier time. 

103. Cockle. A weed among corn. 

114. Measles. Scurvy wretches. The word orig- 
inally meant both leprosy and lepers. 

115. Tetter. Infect with tetter, a disease of the skin. 
119. Of their infirmity. As weak as- they. 

130. Triton. The trumpeter of the sea, who by 
his blast upon a sea shell could stir or calm the waves. 

132. From the canon. Some editors interpret this 
to mean "according to rule" or, in other words, that 

R 



242 NOTES [Act III. 

the tribunes had the authority indicated by Sicinius's 
use of ' ' shall ' ' ; others, however, explain it as meaning 
"contrary to the canon," — that is, contrary to the 
powers granted to the tribunes. Sicinius's speech in 
Scene hi, 11. 18-25, of this act supports the latter 
opinion. 

136. Hydra. The plebeians. Cf . II, iii, 18. 

138. The horn and noise. Hendiadys, meaning 
"the noisy horn." 

142. Vail. Let fall, lower. The meaning is, "If 
he have power, then let your ignorance, which gave it 
to him, lower itself before him." 

143. Dangerous lenity. Mildness dangerous to you. 
145. Cushions by you. Seats near you (i.e. in the 

Senate) . 

149. The great' st taste. The predominant flavor. 

154. Greece. The Greek cities were pure democra- 
cies. 

159. Take the one by the other. Destroy each 
other's power. 

162. Give forth corn . . . gratis. We are led to 
infer that the distribution of corn referred to happened 
at an earlier date and was opposed by Coriolanus 
However, Plutarch says that it occurred after Corio- 
lanus's rejection as consul. 

174. Our recompense. A reward from us. 

178. Thread. File through one by one. 

184. Native. Origin, source. Some editors have 
suggested "motive." 



Scene I.] NOTES 243 

186. Bosom multiplied. " The bosom of that many- 
headed monster, the people." Some modern editors 
substitute here, "bisson multitude," i.e. "the blind 
multitude." The reading here adopted is that of the 
Folios because there seems to be no need for emenda- 
tion. The word "bosom" as the seat of the feelings 
is frequently used by Shakespeare. 

187. Let deeds, etc. " Let their past and present 
deeds be taken as an indication of what they are likely 
to say openly." 

192. Call our cares fears. Attribute our anxiety 
for their welfare to fear. 
199. Worship. Authority. 

Beyond. Gentry. Gentle birth. 
Come to a decision, agree upon 



201. 


Without. 


203. 


Conclude. 


terms. 




206. 


Slightness 


210. 


You, etc. 



Weakness. Barr'd. Thwarted. 
Coriolanus can not comprehend the 
leniency of the patricians, and now proposes that while 
there is yet time, they should retrieve their errors by 
abolishing the tribunate. He is a warrior, not a poli- 
tician, and hence believes in overcoming opposition to 
his views by sweeping measures. 

212. Dread the change on't. Fear the change of 
it. 

215. Jump. Risk, hazard. 

219. Lick the sweet. That is, have the pleasure 
of interfering in state affairs. 

221. Integrity. Oneness, wholeness. 



244 NOTES [Act III. 

229. Bald. Evidently an epithet of contempt 
meaning senseless, witless. 

240. Aediles. Officers who assisted the tribunes. 

244. Attach. Arrest. 

266. Confusion. Ruin. 

280. What is the city, etc. This question brings 
out the fundamental difference between the two classes 
and their representatives. The tribunes, as well as 
Coriolanus, consider that their class makes up the city, 
and out of this irreconcilable difference grow the pres- 
ent and future clashes. 

289. Distinctly ranges. Stands upright and perfect 

291. This. That is, the attack by Coriolanus on 
the rights and liberties of the plebeians. This speech 
has been given by some editors to Coriolanus, but most 
modern editors agree with Keightley's suggestion that 
he "is standing apart, in proud and sullen rage." 

296. Present. Immediate. 

298. The rock Tarpeian. A precipitous cliff from 
which criminals, especially traitors, were cast down. 

334. Tent. Probe. 

342. Worthy. Justifiable. 

343. Will owe another. "This defeat will be com- 
pensated by a future success." 

349. Beyond arithmetic. Beyond calculation. 

352. Tag. The rabble. " The lowest and most 
despicable of the populace are still denominated by 
those a little above them, Tag, rag and bobtail." — 
Johnson. 



Scene I.] NOTES 245 

356. I'll try, etc. Once again Menenius feels that 
it is time for him to step into the breech. He feels 
that diplomacy can regain what has been lost, and that 
with his "old wit" he can undoubtedly accomplish 
much. He fails to remember his former failures. 

391. Cry havoc. Give the signal for merciless de- 
struction. " To • give to an army the order havoc 
[was] the signal for the seizure of spoil, and so of gen- 
eral spoliation or pillage." — Murray. 

393. Warrant. Measures. 

411. But one danger. " Nothing but a continual 
source of danger." — Hudson. Later events proved 
that the tribunes showed considerable political sagac- 
ity at this point. 

416. Deserved. Deserving. 

417. Jove's own book. The book of life. 

430. Clean kam. Altogether wrong. " Kam " is 
of Celtic origin and means " crooked." 

431. Merely. Absolutely, entirely. 

434-435. The service, etc. This speech rightly be- 
longs to Menenius because it is a continuation of his 
argument, but several editors gave it to Sicinius. 
Malone explains the whole argument thus : " You allege 
that being diseased he must be cut away. According 
to your argument, the foot, being once gangrened, is 
not to be respected for what it was before it was gan- 
grened. 'Is this just?' he would have added, if the 
tribune had not interrupted him." 

443. Unscann'd. Inconsiderate. 



246 NOTES [Act III. 

445. Process. Legal methods. 

455. Bolted language. Refined language. Bolting 
is the process of sifting the "meal" from the "bran." 

466. Lay down your weapons. Sicinius consents to 
the proposal, but retains his superiority by naming 
Menenius as "the people's officer." He is still in 
control of the situation, and while yielding temporarily 
in a spirit of compromise, reminds the latter that he 
still holds the upper hand. 

Scene II. 

The issue of the struggle is now delayed to bring in 
a second time the powerful influence which Volumnia 
wields over her son. Deaf to the repeated admoni- 
tions of his other advisers, he is, however, completely 
submissive to his mother's advice and partially regains 
our respect by his promises to exercise tact and self- 
control in the future. This compliance with the wishes 
of his mother prepares us for the outcome of the 
dramatic conflict between Coriolanus and her in Act 
V, Scene hi, in which she saves Rome from capture. 

3. Death on the wheel, etc. " Shakespeare may 
have been thinking of his own time, but he was evi- 
dently acquainted with the classics. Punishment 
on the wheel is suggested in the Greek myth of Ixion, 
although apparently not used in ancient Rome. Tul- 
lus Hostilius had Metius Suffetius torn to pieces by 
horses (Aeneid, VIII, 642), which Livy informs us was 



Scene II.] NOTES 247 

the only instance of such punishment in Roman history 
down to the end of the Republic." — Hudson. 

Such punishments were common during the Middle 
Ages. 

5. Precipitation. Precipitousness, sheerness. 

6. Beam of sight. The range of sight. 

11. Woolen vassals. A contemptuous slur at the 
coarse clothing of the working people. 

12. Groats. Fourpences. 

14. Ordinance. Order, rank. 

23. Let go. Let it go, let us have done with it. 

31. Burn too. This remark seems inconsistent with 
Volumnia's preceding counsel, but must be considered 
as an outburst of her real feelings, which prudence 
warns her must not appear at the present time. Cf. 
11. 9-15 above. 

39. Apt. Amenable, docile. 

53. Absolute. Uncompromising, arbitrary. 

70. Force. Urge. 

71. It lies you on. It is incumbent upon you. 
75. Roted. Learned by rote. 

77. Of no allowance, etc. That is, not acknowl- 
edge as true in your bosom. 

80. Put you to your fortune. Compel you to risk 
the fortunes of war. 

84. I am in this. I am at stake in this. 

88. Inheritance. Possession, obtaining. 

89. That want. The want of their "loves." 

96. Thus far. Volumnia lowers it to the ground. 



248 NOTES [Act III. 

98. Bussing. Kissing. 

113-114. For they have pardons, etc. " To win 
their pardons costs no more than to speak idle words 
to them." — Hudson. 

131. Unbarb'd sconce. Bare or unarmed head. A 
barb was an armour for the breast and the flanks of a 
war horse. 

134. Plot. My own person, body. This speech is 
to arouse in us a momentary sympathy for the leading 
character. 

150. Quired with. Sounded in harmony with. 

153. Tent. Encamp, lodge as in a tent. 

162. Inherent. Abiding, i.e. one that will remain. 

165. Than thou of them. Than for thee to beg of 
them. 

166. Feel thy pride. Endure all that thy pride may 
bring upon us. 

175. Cog. Cheat, cozen. 

187. The word. Pass-word, watch-word. 

Scene III. 

The supreme moment is now at hand. Coriolanus 
can retrieve his past blunders if self-mastery can 
triumph over passion and aristocratic prejudice long 
enough to convince the people that a change in his 
attitude has really taken place. The element of sus- 
pense is thus introduced again, and we await the result 
of the new test with considerable trepidation. For, 
as one editor says, "he is not a fine enough man to 



Scene III.] NOTES 249 

meet the people with a real humility ; too fine to per- 
severe in his affected one." The accusations which he 
expected and which he was prepared to refute are not 
made, but in their stead the tribunes bring forth new 
ones, which because of their injustice arouse his extreme 
anger. So that when they openly call him traitor, all 
his pent-up hatred bursts forth, and his doom is sealed. 
Brandes, the Danish critic, thinks that this fierce 
tirade proves that Shakespeare looked upon treason 
as an unpardonable crime. 

4. Enforce him with his envy. Charge him with his 
hatred. Envy. Hatred, malice. 

5. Spoil got on the Antiates. Plutarch says that 
Coriolanus took great spoil in some forays against the 
Antiates, that took place after the siege, but that he 
reserved none for himself. Such an obviously unjust 
accusation, Coriolanus will hardly be able to overlook. 

14. By the poll. By the head, individually. 

16. Tribes. The voting in each tribe (a division of 
the Romans) was by counting heads, i.e. by the poll, 
but afterwards the tribes voted as a unit. Originally, 
there were only three tribes, but the number increased 
very much later on. 

25. I' the truth o' the cause. In the justice of our 
cause. 

30. Enforce. Urge. Present. Immediate. 

37. Put him to choler. Stir him up to anger. 

38. His worth. His full proportion. 

40. Temperance. Self-control, self-restraint. 



250 NOTES [Act III. 

41-42. That is, etc. " And in him is that which 
seems likely, as we shall take advantage of it, to break 
his neck." 

47. Bear the knave. Permit himself to be callea 
knave. 

62. This present. The former charge, which he 
is now prepared to answer. 

66. Allow. Acknowledge. 

73. The holy churchyard. An anachronism. Why? 

81. Envy you. Indicate malice toward you. 

Cominius, as a soldier, also dislikes to hear Menenius 
repeatedly referring to Coriolanus's wounds and making 
apologies for his military airs even though the wounds 
would win favor with the populace, and the apologies 
show tact. 

85. The very hour. The very same hour. 

91. Season' d office. " Established and settled by 
time, and made familiar to the people by long use." — 
Johnson. 

98. Their traitor. A traitor to them. Coriolanus 
has not acuteness enough to see that he has been led 
into a trap and so loses his self-control just as the 
tribunes had expected. 

99. Sat. Conditional use of subjunctive, "if there 
sat." 

100. Clutched. Passive. "If there were clutched." 
114. Capital. Deserving death. 

126. Pent. The sentence of being confined. Used 
as an object of pronounce. 



Scene III.]' NOTES 251 

129. Courage. Plain-speaking, not bravery, as he 
has not been accused of lacking that quality, nor is it 
consistent with his previous modesty for him to boast 
of his valor now. 

133. Envied against. Cf. 11. 61-63 above. 

135. Not. Not merely. 

144-145. Cf. 11. 12-35. Why is the voting not by 
poll? 

155. Estimate. Worth, reputation. 

163. Cry. Pack. Realizing that his fortunes are 
irretrievably lost, Coriolanus gives vent to his real 
feelings without check. Hitherto, he has usually ex- 
pressed these frank opinions only in the presence of the 
patricians. 

174. Making but reservation of yourselves. Many 
editors adopt the reading of Capell, who substituted 
" not " for " but." The meaning, however, is clear 
without the change. Coriolanus reminds the people 
that although the plebeians may retain the power to 
banish their defenders, even as they do him, the time 
will eventually come when their stupidity, which can 
see no peril until it actually feels it, will keep only 
themselves, their own worst foes, in the city ; so that, 
lacking any real leaders, they will probably be cap- 
tured without blows by soime nation, and led away 
as humiliated captives. 

176. Abated. Down-trodden, beaten-down, humil- 
iated. 

179. A world elsewhere. This remark looks forward 



252 NOTES [Act IV. 

to future action. He still wants to emphasize the fact 
that he is not dependent upon their ungrateful and 
fickle plaudits. In 1. 167, he has plainly told them that 
he is doing the banishing, not they. 

182. Hoo ! hoo ! " After declaration of the sen- 
tence, the people made such joy, as they never rejoiced 
more for any battle they had won upon their enemies, 
they were so brave and lively, and went home so 
jocundly from the assembly, for triumph of this 
sentence." — Plutarch. 

185. Vexation. Mortification. The term had a 
stronger meaning than it has now. Note how the 
tribunes glory in their triumph. 



Act IV. 

When Coriolanus defiantly shouts to the mob which 
is insistently calling for his banishment (III, hi, 177-179) 

" Despising, 
For you, the city, thus I turn my back : 
There is a world elsewhere," 

it is obvious that he is not a broken or crushed man, 
but one who feels that he, and not the people, is doing 
the banishing, and who already has a scheme in mind, 
not fully formed perhaps, whereby he will still conquer 
his fate. 

We have already been led to feel that his misfortune 
is not wholly deserved because of the false charges 



Scene I.] NOTES 253 

made against him. Our sympathy for him is still 
further elicited in the first three scenes of this act. In 
a dignified and unassuming manner, he takes his soli- 
tary departure, and we are ready to share the righteous 
wrath of Volumnia when she attacks the craven trib- 
unes. In the third scene, the Volscians are again 
brought in. This time, however, they are no more 
possible aggressors, but very probable ones as soon as 
the least sign of weakness appears in Rome. 

In the fourth scene we hear for the first time what 
plan of revenge Coriolanus has been concocting, and in 
the fifth we see him taking the initial step in execut- 
ing it. So daring has been the plan that it excites our 
interest and introduces an element of suspense as to both 
its wisdom and its chances of success. And even when 
Coriolanus and Aufidius become reconciled, and the 
latter even offers the former a share in the command 
of the new armies, we cannot help but feel uneasy about 
the future of our hero. That our fears are not ground- 
less is shown by Scene vii, for here we see Aufidius 
regretting his generosity, and pondering with jealous 
emotions upon the popularity of his rival and the 
reason therefor. 

Scene vi effectively pictures the consternation in 
Rome when the news of Coriolanus 's alliance with the 
Volscians becomes known. This scene is well placed 
because the audience knows what is about to befall 
Rome. 



254 NOTES [Act IV. 

Scene I. 

7-8. When the sea, etc. Same metaphor used by 
Shakespeare in Troilus and Cressida, I, iii, 33 ff. 

9-11. Being gentle wounded, craves a noble cun- 
ning. " To be gentle, although wounded, demands 
a noble philosophy." — Clarke. 

14. O heavens ! O heavens ! Virgilia, after this 
single cry of anguish, remains silent during the re- 
mainder of this pathetic scene. 

16. The red pestilence. " The bubonic plague, the 
name arising from the colored swelling, sometimes red, 
winch was one of its earliest signs." — Dor an. There 
were outbreaks of the plague in London in 1582 and in 
1606. 

20. Lacked. Missed. 

29. Sometime. Former. Cominius is referred to. 

33. Fond. Foolish. 

34. Wot. Know. 

38. His fen. His concealed retreat in the marshes. 
The Cambridge editor quotes Topsell, History of Ser- 
pents : "Of the Indian Dragons there are also said to 
be two kindes, one of them fenny, and living in marishes 
. . . the other in the mountains." 

42. Cautelous. Crafty. 

46. Exposture. Exposure. 

48. O the gods ! Chambers suggests that " Corio- 
lanus suddenly realizes how the revenge, which is already 
beginning to shape itself in his mind, must inevitably 



Scene I.] NOTES 255 

bring him into conflict with all that he holds most 
dear." 

52. Repeal. Recall from exile. 

61. Of noble touch. Of "touched" or tested 
nobility. Metals, especially gold, were tested or tried 
by the touchstone. Cf. II, iii, 230. 

65. Like me formerly. In what sense does Corio- 
lanus mean this? 

Scene II. 

19. The hoarded plague o' the gods. Cf. King 
Lear, II, iv, 164-165 : 

" All the stor'd vengeances of heaven fall 
On her ingrateful top ! " 

29. Mankind. " The word mankind is used mali- 
ciously by the first speaker, and taken perversely by 
the second. A mankind woman is a woman with the 
roughness of a man, and, in an aggravated sense, a 
woman ferocious, violent, and eager to shed blood. 
In this sense Sicinius asks Volumnia if she be mankind. 
She takes mankind for human creature, and accordingly 
cries out, ' Note but this fool. Was not a man my 
father? ' " — Johnson. 

32. Foxship. Cunning. The fox was also symboli- 
cal of ingratitude. 

41. In Arabia. That is, in a land where they could 
fight to a finish. 

49. The noble knot. That is, the noble tie that 
bound him to his country. 



256 NOTES [Act IV. 

65. Baited with. Worried by. The metaphor is 
from the sport of bear-baiting, in which dogs were 
made to bite the bear. 

77. Faint puling. " By this slight touch, and by 
the epithet faint, how well is indicated the silent 
agony of weeping in which Virgilia is lost." — Clarke. 

Scene III. 

5. Against 'em. Nicanor, who is a Roman, acts as a 
spy for the Volscians. 

9. Favour. Countenance, look. Appeared. Ap- 
parent. The meaning of the clause is "your counte- 
nance is recalled to me by your voice." 

32. Them. The Volscians. 

36. He cannot choose. He cannot do otherwise, 
but he would prefer another combat with Coriolanus. 

45. Distinctly billeted. Assigned to their respec- 
tive quarters. 

46. In the entertainment. Engaged for service. 

Scene IV. 

3. 'Fore my wars. To be joined with "groan" and 
"drop." 

6. Wives. Women. 

17. O world, thy slippery turns, etc. Coriolanus 
has not been given much to philosophizing before this. 
Is this speech intended to indicate a change in his 
character springing from his adversity? 



Scene V.] NOTES 257 

23. Of a doit. About a doit ; i.e. about a mere trifle. 

27. Take. Destroy. 

28. Trick. Trifle. 

30. Interjoin their issues. Rolfe's explanation is, 
" let their children intermarry." A rather remarkable 
explanation is that of Chambers, " unite their de- 
signs." 

33. If he give me way. If he permits it. 

Scene V. 

3. Cotus. A name not found in Plutarch. 

7. Not like a guest. Coriolanus is still in disguise. 

12. In being Coriolanus. In having obtained that 
name by capturing Corioli. 

15. Companions. Fellows. 

27. Avoid. Leave, get out of. 

32. Poor. A play on words. The Servant uses 
"poor" in the sense of "inferior," Coriolanus uses the 
word in the usual sense. 

37. Batten. Gorge yourself. Literal^, " fatten 
up." 

43. Canopy. Cf. Hamlet, II, iii, 311-312 : "This 
most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave 
o'erhanging firmament." 

49. Daws. The daw was always considered a fool- 
ish bird. 

53. Meddle with, etc. " Do you bring my master's 
name into the question? " 

73. What's thy name. Is it probable that Aufidius 
s 



258 NOTES [Act IV. 

would not recognize a man with whom he had fought 
so often? 

84. Memory. Memorial. 

89. Dastard nobles. Coriolanus's wrath against 
the nobles, which he had already shown, sprung from 
the fact that he felt he had been sacrificed by them in 
order to save the remnants of their power. 

92. Hoop'd. Whooped, hooted. 

98. Full quit of. Fully revenged upon. 

100. A heart of wreak. A heart desiring vengeance. 

103. Maims of shame. Shameful injuries. 

108. Canker'd. Corrupted, polluted. Spleen. See 
note to I, i, 121. 

123. Envy. Hatred. 

127. Where against. Against which. 

129. Scarr'd. Some editors change this hyperbole 
to scar'd, but Delius's quotation in defence of the Folio 
reading seems most satisfactory : "The ship boring the 
moon with her mainmast." — The Winter's Tale, III, 
hi, 93. Clip. Embrace. 

130. The anvil of my sword. That is, he who re- 
ceived the blows of my sword as the anvil receives those 
of the hammer. 

138. Bestride my threshold. Enter my house. 

140. Power on foot. An army under way. 

142. Out. Out and out, thoroughly. 

159. Absolute. Perfect. 

177. My mind gave me. My mind made me sus- 
pect. 



Scene V.] NOTES 259 

191. You wot one. You know the one to whom I 
refer. 

196. The greater soldier. From what follows, we 
can readily see that the servants agree that Coriolanus 
is the greater soldier, but the Second Serving-man does 
not deem it wise to say anything so definite that it 
would be derogatory to his master. 

219. Scotched. Cut, gashed. Carbonado. " A 
piece of fish, flesh, or fowl, scored across and grilled or 
broiled upon the coals." — ■ Murray. 

220. Cannibally given. Given or inclined to canni- 
balism. 

225. Set at the upper end of the table. Figuratively, 
shown especial favor. 

In an Elizabethan mansion, the halls where the meals 
were served was furnished with an upper table capable 
of extension and known as a draw-top table. At 
this table the family sat, chairs being set for the master 
and mistress of the house, and stools for the younger 
members of the household and ordinary guests ; along 
the sides of the hall were ranged plain, long tables 
and forms for the servants and dependents. When 
guests could not find room at the high table, the 
upper ends of the side tables were used for their ac- 
commodation, a salt being placed where the distinction 
of class commenced. 

228. Sanctifies . . . hand. Regards the touch of 
his hand as holy. 

229. The white o' the eye. An expression of pious 
rapture. 



260 NOTES [Act IV. 

233. Sowl. Pull by the ears. A provincialism still 
used in some parts of England. 

235. Poll'd. Bared, cleared (originally, cut the hair). 

242. Directitude. Generally considered a humor- 
ous blunder for some word, probably decrepitude 
or discredited. 

245. In blood. In good condition. 

246. Conies. Rabbits. 

258. Audible. Quick of hearing, alert. A passive 
adjective used in an active sense. Full of vent. This 
phrase has caused much discussion, and has been ex- 
plained in several ways. Some editors follow Baynes, 
who regards it as the hunting term, meaning "the 
scenting of the game " ; others follow Wright, who 
thinks that it is an allusion to the fermentation of 
wine, meaning "effervescent, working, ready to burst 
the cask," and as used antithetically with mulled, 
which means "insipid," "lifeless," a term used to refer 
to spiced or sweetened wine. 

Scene VI. 

8. Pestering. Thronging, crowding to discomfort. 

28. God-den. Good even. A shortened form of 
"God give ye good even." Cf. II, i, 100. 

41. Confusion. Ruin. 

46. Sole throne. The tribunes still contend that the 
charge made against Coriolanus in III, hi, 89-93 was 
the cause of his punishment, even though they knew 
it to be a false one. 



Scene VI.] NOTES 261 

49. To all our lamentation. To the sorrow of all of 
us. 

53. Safe and still. This expression of a feeling of 
unwarranted security helps to heighten the dramatic 
effect of what so rapidly follows. 

55. Put in prison. " This touch, showing how in- 
credible the truth appeared, is perhaps the most ironi- 
cal thing in the scene." — Chambers. 

62. Thrusts forth his horns. A figure from the snail. 

63. Stood. Stood as its defender. 
76. Information. Informant. 

87. His raising. "It is a rumor invented by him." 

91. Delivered. Reported. 

96-97. As spacious . . . thing. "As boundless in 
extent as from the beginning of time until the present." 
White's explanation is, " Revenge that shall embrace* 
all, from the youngest to the oldest." 

101. Good. Used ironically. 

104. Atone. Be at one, agree. 

116. The city leads. The leaden roofs of the houses. 

121. Whereon you stood. For which you contended 
so stubbornly. 

122. Into an auger's bore. That is, into the small- 
est possible limits. 

135. Apron-men. Artisans and trades-people wore 
aprons. 

137. The voice of occupation. The vote of the 
working men. 

138. The breath of garlic-eaters. The lower classes 



262 NOTES [Act IV. 

of Shakespeare's day were evidently very fond of 
onions and garlic. Bottom, in Midsummer Night's 
Dream, IV, ii, 43, says to his fellow " mechanicals," 
" Most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlic, for we are 
to utter sweet breath." 

141. Mellow fruit. An allusion to the golden apples 
of the Hesperides. 

146. Smilingly. Smiling with scorn for your au- 
thority. 

157. Charged. Would charge, or, in other words, 
implore him, as his enemies should do. 

165. Made fair hands. Done fine work. 

173. Clusters. Swarms of people, mobs. 

176. Roar him in again. " As he went out with scoffs, 
he will come back with lamentations." — Johnson. 

177. Second name. Second in renown after Corio- 
lanus. Points. Commands. Ordinarily, " a point of 
war " was a signal given by a trumpet. 

182. And is Aufidius, etc. Menenius still seems 
only half convinced that his opinion expressed in 11. 103- 
105 can be incorrect. 

187. Coxcombs. " With a play on the word as 
applied to the fool's cap." 

202. Cry. Pack of hounds. 

213. So did we all. Here, as elsewhere, the com- 
moners are not willing to bear the blame for the results 
of their own actions. They show the evidences of the 
fickleness with which Shakespeare always characterizes 
the common people. 



Scene VII.] NOTES 263 

Scene VII. 

7. Your own. Your own soldiers. 

16. For your particular. For your own part, as 
far as you personally are concerned. 

22. What I can urge against him. What this 
charge may be, we never find out. It is sufficient to 
know that Aufidius has been laying plans to deprive 
Coriolanus of his popularity. 

34-66. All places, etc. Of this passage Coleridge 
says, " I have always thought this the least explicable 
from the mood and the full intention of the speaker 
of any in the whole works of Shakespeare." Can you 
perceive any inconsistency? 

40. Osprey. An allusion to the belief that the 
osprey had the power of fascinating fish so that they 
turned over on their backs, and became helpless prey. 

43. Carry his honours even. " Carry his honours 
without losing his equilibrium." A figure from bal- 
ancing. 

43-52. Whether 'twas pride, etc. " Aufidius as- 
signs three probable reasons of the miscarriage of Corio- 
lanus : pride, which easily follows an uninterrupted 
train of success ; unskillfulness to regulate the conse- 
quences of his own victories ; a stubborn uniformity 
of nature, which could not make the proper transition 
from the casque or helmet to the cushion or chair of 
civil authority, but acted with the same despotism in 
peace as in war." — Johnson. 



264 NOTES [Act V. 

44-45. Which . . . man. Which springing from 
continuous success always taints the good judgment of 
the fortunate man. 

51. Garb. Manner. 

53. Not all. Aufidius will not say that Coriolanus 
has any of these defects in full measure. Spices. 
Touches, samples. 

55-56. But he . . . utterance. Aufidius suddenly 
breaks off in his enumeration of the faults of Coriolanus, 
and remarks, " But he has merit enough to make his 
accusers choke while mentioning his faults." 

56 ff. So our virtues, etc. Whitelaw interprets the 
meaning of this passage as follows : " Our virtues are 
virtues no longer if the time interprets them as none. 
The soldier who is all soldier is misinterpreted in time 
of peace ; for his unfitness for space is seen, his fitness for 
war is not seen." 

59. Evident. Certain. Chair. Curule chair, the 
seat of the magistrates. 

61. One fire drives out one fire. "An allusion to 
the old idea of curing a burn by applying heat." — 
Hudson. 

62. Fouler. Falter and founder have been proposed 
as emendations. Which seems to be preferable? 

Act V. 

The last act sets forth the tragic failure of the plan 
which had its inception in the previous act. The 



Scene I.] NOTES 265 

ambitious plans of Coriolanus come to grief because 
he remained the same Coriolanus that he had always 
been. Change of environment had not been accom- 
panied by change of character, and, therefore, failure 
is inevitable. 

The first two scenes picture the dismay of the Romans 
because of the unsuccessful mission of Cominius, and 
the iron resolve which Coriolanus exhibits when Mene- 
nius with real humility makes his appeal. Thus, the 
stage is set for Volumnia, and the importance of her 
effort is naturally intensified by such a background. 
The third scene is without question the most dramatic 
and most powerful in the play. Here is a conflict of 
souls which is worthy of the master hand of the great 
dramatist. When the mother finally triumphs, we can 
look forward to the inescapable doom of the son. 

Scene I. 

1. He. Cominius. 

4. In a most dear particular. With a very close 
personal affection. 

6. Knee. Make your way upon your knee. 

7. Coy'd. Disdained. Look up the early meanings 
of this word. 

20.' Rack'd. Strained to the utmost, exerted every 
effort. 

21. To make coals cheap. A sneer at the efforts 
of the tribunes, for when Rome is burning, the demand 
for coals will cease. Memory. Memorial. 



266 NOTES [Act V. 

24. A bare petition. A mere petition. Coriolanus 
reminded Cominius that the state which had actually 
punished him had now the audacity to entreat for 
pardon for itself. 

28. Offered. Tried, attempted. 

33. Nose. Scent, smell. One poor grain, etc. 
Menenius is deeply surprised that Coriolanus could 
have so forgotten his personal friends. 

41. So never-needed help. Help never needed so 
much as now. 

45. Instant. Hastily collected or levied. 

55. Grief-shot. Sorrow-stricken. 

58-60. That thanks . . . well. Such thanks as 
are proportionate to your good intentions. 

61-62. I'll undertake't, etc. Although Menenius 
is highly pleased to be urged to undertake the com- 
mission, he is, however, little pleased when he thinks 
of the very probable failure of it. Still as an epicure, 
he, in his usual short-sighted way, flatters himself that 
he can succeed where others have failed by taking 
Coriolanus after his dinner. 

63. Hum. That is, say "hum" in a tone of scorn 
or contempt. 

64. Taken well. Approached at an appropriate 
time ; that is, when he was in the right mood. 

72. Be dieted to my request. That is, has eaten 
himself into a mood in which he will look at my request 
with favor. 

78. Speed. Turn out, fare. 



Scene II.] NOTES 267 

83. In gold. On a throne of gold. 

84-85. His injury, etc. The wrong done him re- 
strains his pity. 

90. What he . . . conditions. This passage seems 
incomplete, but no emendations have been offered 
which are altogether satisfactory. The meaning prob- 
ably is : What he agreed to do, he had set down in the 
written terms of surrender, and he bound us with an 
oath to yield to the conditions to which he refused to 
agree. 

Scene II. 

15. Good my friends. My good friends. 

17. Lots to blanks. " A thousand to one." — 
Murray. The lots are the prizes in a lottery ; the 
blank is nothing. However, the figure derives its 
force from the relative value of the two, and not the 
relative number. 

18. It is Menenius. In his self-conceit, Menenius 
announces his name as if the very mention of it should 
serve as a countersign anywhere. 

23. Lover. Loving friend. A term often used of 
close male friends. 

26. Verified. Stood up for, or spoken the truth 
about. Whitelaw paraphrased 11. 26-31 as follows: 
" I have always spoken the truth about my friends' 
good acts — always the whole truth — sometimes 
perhaps a little more than the truth." 

29. Subtle. Deceptively smooth. 



268 NOTES [Act V. 

30. Tumbled past the throw. Overshot the mark. 

31. Stamp'd the leasing. Given untruth the stamp 
of good coin. Leasing. Falsehood. 

40. Factionary on the party of your general. Tak- 
ing my stand in a quarrel on the side of your general. 

54. Front. Confront. Easy. That is, easy to 
call up. 

57. Dotant. Dotard : that is, one who is in his 
dotage or second childhood and is given to foolish 
affection. 

69. Your half pint of blood. " All there is in an old 
man's veins." — Chambers. 

74. Companion. A term of deprecation. Say an 
errand. Have you sent on an errand. 

77. Jack guardant. A Jack on guard. The term 
Jack was often used contemptuously, while guardant 
was a heraldic term. The expression may be compared 
with the well-known phrase, " Jack in office." Office 
me. Use his office to keep me from. 

78. Entertainment with. Reception from. 
83. Synod. Assembly, council. 

87. Water. That is, tears. Hardly. With diffi- 
culty. 

99. Servanted to. Subject to. 

100. Properly. As my own personal matter. The 
meaning of these lines is, " Though I possess the power 
to execute my revenge, the power to remit it remains 
with the Volscians." 

101-103. That . . . much. "Ungrateful forgetful- 



Scene III.] NOTES 269 

ness shall destroy our former familiarity rather than 
pity shall show how (great) it was." 

112. Constant temper. Cf. I, i, 305. Does Aufidius 
see any signs of weakening in Coriolanus ? 

116. Shent. Rebuked, reproved. 

122. Slight. Insignificant, worthless. 

123. By himself. By his own hands. 

127. A noble fellow. The First Sentinel seems 
touched by the manner in which Menenius bears his 
repulse. 

Scene III. 

4. plainly. Straightforwardly, without concealment. 

14. godded. Idolized, made a god of. Noun used 
as a verb. 

16. showed. Appeared. 

18. To grace him. To do him honor. 

29. But out, affection ! Note how Vehemently 
Coriolanus reaffirms his determination not to yield 
to any plea based on affection. Is this a sign that he 
fears he will? 

36. Olympus. A mountain in Thessaly, where the 
gods were supposed to dwell. 

47. Delivers. Shows. How does she misunder- 
stand him? 

50. Am out. A technical phrase of the theatre, 
meaning "have forgotten my part." 

51. Best of my flesh. Virgilia. 

55. Jealous queen of heaven. Juno, who was ever 



270 NOTES [Act V. 

jealous of Jupiter, and was supposed to punish conju- 
gal infidelity among mortals. 

57. Virgin' d it. Been as a virgin. 

68. Corrected. " Rebuked for his delay in greeting 
her." 

70. Fillip. Strike, beat. What figure? Find other 
examples. 

72. Murdering impossibility. Putting an end to 
the impossible. 

78. Curdied. Congealed. 

79. Dian's temple. The goddess of the moon, 
Diana, was always symbolical of modesty among the 
Romans. 

80. This is a poor epitome, etc. This boy (mean- 
ing young Marcius), is yourself on a small scale. 

83. The god of soldiers. Mars, the Roman god 
of war. 

88. Sea-mark. Beacon. Flaw. Gust or storm. 

90. Your knee. The boy had evidently not knelt 
when the women did so, but remains standing, and is 
commended here by his father for his show of spirit. 
In 1. 210, however, he does kneel. 

98. The thing, etc. " What I have sworn not to 
grant cannot be held by you as refusals." — Hudson. 

98. Capitulate. Treat with. 

107. Fail in. Fail in granting. 

115. Bewray. Betray, make known. 

127. Capital. Deadly, fatal. 

140. The palm. That is, the symbol of victory. 



Scene III.] NOTES 271 

143. Determine. Come to an end, terminate. 

180-184. Thou hast affected, etc. " Volumnia 
suggests that Coriolanus has brought Rome to her 
knees to save his honour, never meaning really to in- 
jure her, just as Jove when he thunders injures nothing 
more important than a tree." — Chambers. The 
"fine strains of honour" may be freely rendered as 
"the finest or loftiest impulses or aspirations of a man 
of honour." 

193. Like one i' the stocks. Like one who has 
been shamed by being imprisoned in the stocks and can- 
not effect his release by mere words. 

197. Has clucked thee. " Caius Martius, . . . 
being left an orphan by his father, was brought up under 
his mother, a widow." — Plutarch. 

213. To. For. 

•Observe how Volumnia has appealed to her son's 
feeling of patriotism, to his reason, to his love of mother, 
wife, and child, to his sense of honor as a soldier, and 
now has recourse, just as the tribunes had done, to a 
palpably false charge. Appeals to his reason may 
have affected him, appeals to his feelings (perhaps ac- 
companied by tears) have doubtless moved him greatly, 
but it is the final act of disowning him that causes him 
to yield. 

222. Unnatural. " The whole situation is unnatu- 
ral ; a Roman making war on Rome ; a mother pleading 
with her son for mercy; a conqueror melted by a 
woman." 



272 NOTES [Act V. 

227. Mortal. Used adverbially. 

244. A former fortune. That is, regain such power 
as I had before I shared it with Coriolanus. 

247. Drink together. Symbolical of peace and amity. 

251. A temple. " Whereupon the Senate ordained 
that the magistrates, to gratify and honour these ladies, 
should grant them all they would require. And they 
only requested that they would build a temple of For- 
tune for the women." — Plutarch. This temple is 
said to have stood at the fourth milestone on the Via 
Latina, where the women met Coriolanus. 

Scene IV. 

I. Coign. Corner. 

8. Stay upon. Wait for. 

II. Condition. Disposition. 
20. Engine. That is, of war. 

24. A thing made for. An image or statue made to 
represent Alexander. 

26. Wants nothing of a god. Lacks nothing req- 
uisite to a god. 

29. In the character. In his true character, as he 
really is. 

33. Long of. Because of, through. 

42. Hale. Haul, drag. 

50. Expulsion of the Tarquins. For the part 
Coriolanus played in that episode, see Act II, Sc. ii, 
11. 112-123. 

56. A fine metaphor. Shakespeare may have derived 



Scene VI.] NOTES 273 

it from the rapidity with which the Thames flowed 
through the arches of the London Bridge. 

58-60. Hautboys. Wooden double-reed wind instru- 
ments of high pitch. Psalteries. Ancient and mediae- 
val stringed instruments, played by plucking the 
strings with the fingers or with a plectrum. Sackbut. 
A bass trumpet with a slide like that of a trombone for 
altering the pitch. Tabor. A small drum, used 
chiefly as an accompaniment for a pipe, for festive oc- 
casions. 

61. Make the sun dance. It was a popular belief 
that the sun danced on Easter Sunday. 

76. At point to enter. On the point of entering. 

Scene V. 

6. Unshout. Nullify by shouts of welcome to his 
mother the tumult with which you banished Marcius. 

Referring to this celebration, Plutarch says : " There 
was not a temple in the city but was presently set open, 
and full of men wearing garlands upon their heads, 
sacrificing to the gods, as they were wont to do upon 
the news of some great obtained victory. And this 
common joy was yet more manifestly shewed by the 
honourable courtesies the whole Senate and people 
did bestow on the ladies." 

Scene VI. 

Coriolanus has finally become enmeshed in the 
tangles of his own web. Having chosen to recoup his 

T 



274 NOTES [Act V. 

former failure by a scheme from which he could not 
escape at its fulfilment but by showing a want of natural 
affection or by proving treacherous to his newly-made 
friends, he arouses our pity for his want of foresight, 
but by his death satisfies our idea of dramatic justice. 

5. Him. He whom. The antecedent was fre- 
quently merged with the relative. Vid. Abbot, § 246. 

Stage direction. Attendants. These attendants are 
introduced merely as a stage service to make a stately 
entry. 

28. Pawned. Pledged. 

31. Flattery. Surely a conscious falsehood. 

35. Stoutness. Pride. Cf. Ill, ii, 133. May per- 
haps mean obstinacy or stubbornness. 

46. End all his. Gather in for himself, make all his 
own. 

49. Waged me. Paid me wages, made me feel 
dependent. 

50. Mercenary. That is, a mercenary or paid 
soldier. 

56. Sinews. Abilities. 

58. Rheum. Tears. Compare this speech with 
Aufidius's admission in the third scene of this act, 
1. 232, " I was moved withal." 

63. Like a post. Like a mere messenger bringing 
news of the success of Coriolanus. 

74. After your way. After your version of his action. 

75. Reasons. That is, arguments defending his 
conduct. 



Scene VI.] NOTES 275 

87-88. Answering us, With our own charge. "Re- 
turning us nothing, but the costs of the war." 

91. Hail, lords ! Note how the dramatist again 
makes us feel a certain respect for his hero by having 
him face matters in a bold and unapologetic manner. 
Later, this respect is increased by the false explanation 
of his conduct made by Aufidius, in 112 ff. 

99. A full third part. That is, by a full third part. 

105. Compounded on. Agreed upon. 

107. Traitor. Note that Aufidius, like the tribunes, 
knows the weak point in the armor of Coriolanus. 
The Folios did not have a comma after the word 
traitor. Would the omission of the comma intensify 
the accusation? 

121-122. Never admitting counsel o' the war. 
"Never accepting any advice from me, his fellow- 
general." Does this charge prove him a traitor? 

129. No more. That is, no better than a boy of 
tears. 

133. The first time. Is he correct? 

136. Notion. Understanding, consciousness. 

154. Presently. Immediately. 

158. Folds-in. Extends beyond and around. 

160. Judicious. Judicial, impartial. 

178. Owe you. Had in store for you. 

185. Herald. In Elizabethan, not in Roman days, 
did heralds accompany funerals of nobles, and pro- 
claim the rank of the deceased. 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

Act I. 

1. Why does the play open with a scene presenting 
common people? 

2. What is the plebeians' opinion of Coriolanus? 

3. What is their attitude toward the patricians as 
a class? 

4. What is the dramatic purpose of having some of 
the people speak in defence of Coriolanus? 

5. What opinion of Menenius is held by the citizens? 

6. What application does he make of the fable of 
The Belly and the Members f 

7. Are the citizens convinced by the arguments of 
Menenius? What is the latter's real opinion of them? 

8. Mention some of the reasons which Coriolanus 
gives at his first appearance for his lack of sympathy 
with the plebeians. 

9. What is foreshadowed by his complaints about 
the leniency of the patricians ? 

10. Why does he welcome the news that the Vol- 
scians are making war on Rome? 

11. What is indicated by the willingness of Corio- 
lanus to serve under Cominius? Are the tribunes 
correct in the reason they assign for it ? 

277 



278 SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS [Act I. 

12. Is Coriolanus really patriotic ? 

13. What is the comment on Marcius made by the 
tribunes after his withdrawal ? 

14. What is the dramatic purpose of Scene ii? 

15. How is Volumnia portrayed in the third scene 
as the typical Roman mother ? 

16. What are the important characteristics brought 
out in the personality of Virgilia ? 

17. Which of the two women wields the stronger 
influence over Coriolanus? Why? 

18. Is the condemnation of the common people by 
Coriolanus in Scene iv excusable on any ground? 

19. In what ways does the dramatist arouse our 
admiration for the hero in this scene? 

20. How is this admiration increased by the inci- 
dents of Scene v ? 

21. Were the common soldiers to be blamed for 
collecting spoil? 

22. What difference do you note between the atti- 
tude of Cominius towards his defeated soldiers and 
that of Coriolanus towards his ? 

23. What is the effect gained by Scene vii? Could 
this scene be omitted in a presentation of the play ? 

24. Comment on the realism of Scene viii. Does 
this boasting of the two antagonists add to or detract 
from our interest in them ? 

25. How does Coriolanus receive the honors heaped 
upon him ? Is his modesty real or feigned ? 

26. What is the dramatic purpose of introducing the 



Act II.] SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 279 

incident of the prisoner whose release is requested by 
Coriolanus ? Is the latter really magnanimous or does 
he merely wish to appear to be so ? 

27. How does Cominius impress us as a true noble- 
man? 

28. What terms are granted to Corioli ? 

29. What is the attitude of Aufidius towards Corio- 
lanus as revealed in Scene x? What action is fore- 
shadowed by the former's words ? 

30. What title might be given to this act? 



Act II. 

1. What object does Menenius have in mind in his 
conversation with the tribunes? Does he accomplish 
it? 

2. Are the accusations of the tribunes against Corio- 
lanus just? 

3. Which is the better representative of the patrician 
order, Menenius or Coriolanus? Why? 

4. What is the effect on Menenius of Brutus's hint 
that the former is not taken seriously even by the 
patricians ? 

5. What is the purpose of the scene between him and 
the women? 

6. Contrast the welcome which Coriolanus receives 
from his mother with that which he receives from his 
wife. Which is the more sincere? 

7. Discuss the hero's courtesy to women. 



280 SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS [Act II. 

8. What is indicated by the fact that Coriolanus 
first desires to visit the patricians at the Capitol? Is 
he disdainful of any honors which might proceed from 
the common people? Is his mother? 

9. Does Brutus show any sympathy with the com- 
moners in his speech, Scene i, 11. 239-257 ? In what 
spirit does he describe the crowd? 

10. Which of the two tribunes shows the keener 
understanding of the effect that the present popularity 
of Coriolanus will have on his future? Explain. 

11. What do the tribunes fear from the probable 
elevation of Coriolanus to the consulship? What 
plans do they formulate to defeat him ? 

12. What is the dramatic purpose of the conversa- 
tion between the two officers in Scene ii? Why are 
they not given names by Shakespeare ? 

13. What had Coriolanus said about the manner of 
canvassing for the consulship ? Has his attitude under- 
gone any change? 

14. Which of the two patricians, Menenius or Co- 
minius, proves more helpful in presenting Coriolanus's 
cause to the people? Give reasons. • 

15. Show how Brutus provokes Coriolanus to dis- 
close his real self before the Senators. To what does 
he particularly object? 

16. How does the reasoning of the citizens at the 
beginning of Scene iii contrast with that of the trib- 
unes? How does this prepare for the public appear- 
ance of Coriolanus? 



Act III.] SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 281 

17. What are Coriolanus's real feelings towards the 
people as shown here? Does he hesitate to show his 
wounds because of real modesty or because of his per- 
sonal contempt for the people? 

18. Show how the three scenes of petitioning are 
differentiated. 

19. How are the plebeians persuaded to withdraw 
the promises they have given ? Are we led to approve 
of or to condemn their action? 

20. What was the Roman method of voting at this 
time? 

21. In what requisite for true statesmanship has 
Coriolanus shown himself lacking? Explain. 

22. How do the closing speeches of this act prepare 
for future action ? 

Act III. 

1. What is the dramatic purpose of mentioning the 
preparations for war by the Volscians? 

2. Is there any indication that Coriolanus is more 
incensed at the tribunes than at the people ? 

3. What justification for the action of the tribunes 
can you find ? 

4. How is the brawl fomented ? 

5. Are the criticisms made in this act by Coriolanus 
against the actions of the people justified? 

6. Show how and why Coriolanus turns against his 
fellow patricians. Do any of them ever utter a word 
of criticism of him ? 



282 SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS [Act III. 

7. What does he say concerning the free distribu- 
tion of corn? 

8. Are the tribunes right when they say that he has 
spoken like a traitor and should suffer accordingly? 

9. What is the result of Menenius's attempts at 
mediation ? 

10. In view of what happens in this scene, show how 
the tribunes had shown a keen knowledge of the hero's 
character. 

11. Does Volumnia give her son sound and sage 
advice? Is her real attitude towards the plebeians 
different from his? 

12. Which shows itself more admirable, the mother 
who would temporize to gain an end, or the son who 
has no sympathy for the people and defiantly boasts 
of it? 

13. Was Coriolanus right in yielding to his mother's 
wishes against his own convictions? Does this sub- 
mission presage success ? 

14. What future action is prepared for by the 
second scene of this act ? 

15. Show how Sicinius prepares for the reappear- 
ance of Coriolanus. 

16. What is the climax of the play? 

17. What is the dramatic purpose of the false accu- 
sations against the hero ? 

18. Was there any consideration in the sentence 
passed upon him? What does this snow concerning 
the real temper of the people? 



Act IV.] SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 283 

19. With what feeling are we left at the end of this 
act as to the future of Rome ? 

20. What is the effect of the final speech of Coriola- 
nus, particularly of the last two lines of it ? 

Act IV. 

1. How does Coriolanus accept his defeat? Does 
he retain our sympathy ? 

2. Does Volumnia curse the commoners because of 
her love for her son or because of her blighted hopes ? 

3. What is accomplished by having Coriolanus go 
into exile unaccompanied by any of the friends who 
wish to share it with him ? 

4. What fears of the wisdom of their course come 
upon the tribunes in the second scene ? 

5. How does this scene present Volumnia ? To what 
do the tribunes attribute her angry taunts ? 

6. Is the action advanced by Scene hi? Could it 
be omitted or combined with any other scene ? 

7. What purpose does Coriolanus reveal in his solilo- 
quy at the end of the fourth scene of this act? Why 
is this purpose made known here ? What do you think 
of his train of reasoning ? 

8. Discuss the humor of the fifth scene. 

9. What contrast appears here between the nobility 
of the two leading characters, Coriolanus and Aufidius? 

10. What injustice does Coriolanus do to the nobles 
of Rome in his account of his wrongs ? 

11. Is it credible that the Volscian soldiers should 



284 SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS [Act V. 

admire him, if the citizens of his native city hate him 
enough to banish him ? 

12. Point out the humor in the servants' talk which 
follows the meeting of the two leaders. Does their 
chatter bear out Coriolanus's opinion of the common 
people ? 

13. What truth and irony do you find in the speech 
of Sicinius at the opening of Scene vi? 

14. Discuss the mood and thought of old Menenius 
in this scene. Does he misunderstand Coriolanus? 

15. What is the effect upon the nobles when the news 
reaches Rome that the Volscians are again approaching ? 

16. What is the effect upon the tribunes and the 
citizens? Are we led to expect such conduct from 
them? Explain. 

17. What complaint does Aufidius make against 
Coriolanus? Is it a just one? 

18. What two main purposes did the dramatist have 
in Scene vii? 

Act V. 

1. On what grounds had Cominius appealed to 
Coriolanus to spare Rome? What was the reply of 
Coriolanus to each appeal? 

2. Why does Menenius feel that he can succeed where 
Cominius failed ? What is his plan ? 

3. How do the Volscians receive him? How does 
Coriolanus treat him? What sign of yielding does 
Coriolanus show ? 



Act V.] SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 285 

4. Was Coriolanus influenced in his actions towards 
these men by his promises to Aufidius? Would he 
have done what he did if he had feared treachery on 
the part of Aufidius ? 

5. How is he affected by the appearance of his wife 
and mother? ■ 

6. Outline Volumnia's appeal. 

7. Does Coriolanus regain our admiration by yield- 
ing to her plea? What does he surrender by his 
yielding ? 

8. What purpose do the comments of Menenius in 
Scene iv serve ? 

9. What cover has Aufidius for his jealous perfidy? 

10. What trait is exhibited in Coriolanus 's resent- 
ment at Aufidius 's insult implied in the word, Boy? 



TOPICS FOR THEMES 

1. Coriolanus as a Military Leader. 

2. Volumnia as a Type of the Roman Mother. 

3. Coriolanus as a Statesman. 

4. The Plot of the Tribunes against Coriolanus. 

5. The Fickleness of the Roman Populace. 

6. The Various Embassies to Coriolanus. 

7. Volumnia and Virgilia : a Contrast. 

8. Coriolanus and Aufidius : a Contrast. 

9. The Humor of the Play. 

10. The Play as a Commentary on Democracy. 

11. Menenius. 

12. The Underlying Philosophy of the Play. 

13. The Attitude of the Plebeians towards Coriolanus 
at Various Times. 

14. The Influence of Volumnia over her Son. 

15. The Terror in Rome at the Approach of the 
Volscian Army. 

16. The Perfidy of Aufidius. 

17. A Comparison of Plutarch's Version with that 
of Shakespeare. 

18. The Political Situation in Rome at the Opening 
of the Play. 

287 



288 TOPICS FOR THEMES 

19. Roman Ideals. 

20. The Failure of Coriolanus's Canvassing for the 
Consulship. 

21. The Ingratitude of Republics. 

22. The Most Dramatic Scene in the Play. 

23. The Structure of the Play. 

24. Coriolanus as a " Star " Play. 

25. A Comparison of Coriolanus with Julius Ccesar. 



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